Construction is underway in Allen on a project that will soon become the answer to a trivia question: Where can you find the largest convention center space between Dallas and Oklahoma along U.S. Highway 75?
The four-star Delta by Marriott Hotel, with its 300 guest rooms and 90,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, will open later this year at the northwest corner of U.S. 75 and Bethany Drive.
“We knew we had an opportunity [with this convention center]. If we did not do it now, somebody else along 75 would figure it out and they would get their footprint in the ground,” said Karen Cromwell, Director of the Allen Convention and Visitors Bureau. “And we did not want to miss that opportunity.”
The hotel and convention center will be situated across Bethany Drive from the popular Watters Creek development, a neighborhood shopping center which features dozens of restaurants and shops in addition to office and residential space.
According to Cromwell, convention space is at a premium across all of Dallas-Fort Worth.
“Not every convention needs the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center [in Downtown Dallas.] That is a massive center. There are more groups that are 1,000 to 2,000 people than there are those that need 10,000 to 20,000,” Cromwell said.
Work began this month to install sidewalks in front of the Allen convention center and to add lanes to Watters Road and Watters Creek Boulevard to accommodate the increased traffic that is anticipated.
