Dallas College has rolled out big plans for downtown, tapping Matthews Development to steer a roughly 800,000-square-foot mixed-use campus that would overhaul the El Centro footprint and tie key pieces of the city core together. The proposal would replace the college’s scattered downtown sites with a consolidated, industry-facing campus along the Austin Street corridor, complete with new classrooms, training centers and administrative space.
The college chose Matthews Development to lead the estimated $500 million effort, with a target completion around 2032, according to Dallas News. Dallas College said the work will be funded in part with proceeds from the voter-approved $1.1 billion bond program passed in 2019, per a school release.
What the Plan Includes
The master plan envisions a brand-new El Centro campus, college administrative offices, workforce training hubs and additional mixed-use development that would link the West End DART station with the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas College said in a release.
Why Downtown Leaders Are Paying Attention
City planners and business leaders see the project as more than a campus makeover. A consolidated site could funnel a steady stream of weekday activity into the core and tighten the connection between students and nearby employers, the kind of predictable daily traffic downtown has been missing. D CEO reported that a full downtown campus could bring roughly 30,000 students into the area and potentially spark more housing and retail investment around it.
Who Matthews Development Is
Matthews Development is led by Jack Matthews, a veteran local developer whose résumé includes South Side on Lamar and the Omni Dallas Hotel, along with other large convention and mixed-use projects across the region. In a conversation with D Magazine, Matthews described a long-term approach to downtown investment and said his firm favors patient, equity-heavy deals built to ride out market cycles.
The college said it chose Matthews Development from three finalists and will move into detailed design and financing work before any major construction begins, with officials eyeing a phased schedule that could stretch toward 2032, according to Dallas News. Dallas College and Matthews Development are expected to release more specifics as planning continues, and the RFP process along with public meetings will help determine how much housing, lab space and public space ultimately make it into the project.
