The overview
The hotel will be 75 feet high and have five stories with 201 rooms. There will be two outdoor flex spaces, a large outdoor pool and lounge space, full-service gym facilities, a spa and wellness center and an elevated food and beverage program, according to city documents. The hotel will serve beer and wine on tap in the lobby, applicant Hitesh Jariwala said.
The impact
By building the hotel, Jariwala said more people will be in the area to help revitalize that stretch of road where businesses have shuttered its doors, leaving empty buildings. Currently, only four restaurants are active while three buildings lay vacant near Crossroads Drive where the hotel will be.
“I’m really hoping that us bringing 201 rooms will help that whole block because a lot of the restaurants have shut down,” Jariwala said. “With us bringing in foot traffic from the hotel guests, I’m hoping that ... somebody invests in those restaurants and it becomes a lively area again.”
The background
California Pizza Kitchen, Red Robin and Buffalo Wild Wings are all vacant buildings in that area. Active restaurants include Pluckers, The Original Pancake House, Hooters and Freebirds.
“Research that we did said that ... all those successful brands that were popular in the late [19]90s and early 2000s all aged out at the same time,” said Garin Giacomarro, director of Grapevine Economic Development. “California Pizza Kitchen, Fridays, Outback and Red Robin, they all aged out. That's just brand consumer behavior."
Preston T. Evans, the owner of the former TGI Fridays and Outback Steakhouse properties, had worked with multiple tenants since 2018 but nothing was the right fit for that market.
"This site, in particular, has been difficult to market with all of the surrounding vacancy,” Evans said. “That’s why we were thrilled to receive interest from developer Hitesh Jariwala of O Life Hospitality to bring more visitors to the Crossroads development. We believe this hotel will be the catalyst to a redevelopment of all of the adjacent properties.”
