October 2008

12:19 PM CDT on Friday, October 17, 2008

By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
dfleck@dallasnews.com

Local and state officials broke ground Thursday afternoon on the $518 million Irving Diamond Interchange State Highway 114 and Loop 12 improvement project.

Just north of Texas Stadium, the multimodal project will streamline the area’s four highways – state highways 114 and 183, Loop 12 and Spur 482 – with the DART Orange Line, which is scheduled to reach Las Colinas in 2012.

“This project will allow us to get to Las Colinas on time,” DART board chair Randall Chrisman said. “We’ve already purchased the rails and 23 rail cars (for the Orange Line) and have the design builds out for bids.”

05:12 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 8, 2008

By SHERYL JEAN / The Dallas Morning News
sjean@dallasnews.com

Aloft Hotel plans to open its first Texas location Thursday in Las Colinas on Texas Highway 114 and O’Connor Boulevard.

The trendy Starwood Hotels & Resorts brand is a smaller, limited-service version of the W Hotel with modern design and many high-tech features aimed at younger travelers. Its 136 rooms feature nine-foot ceilings and large windows, oversized walk-in showers, fitness center and a pool.

Starwood developed the hotel in partnership with management company Aimbridge Hospitality and developers Hillwood, Champ Hospitality and JF Capital Advisors.

Other Aloft hotels are being built in downtown Dallas, Frisco and Plano. Aloft has about 20 hotels open worldwide but plans to have 500 by 2012.

05:08 PM CDT on Thursday, October 2, 2008

By BILL NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News
brnichols@dallasnews.com

Hewlett-Packard announced Thursday that it would assume naming rights to the Byron Nelson Championship from EDS.

The move was expected since California-based HP bought Plano-based EDS on Aug. 26, not long after EDS extended its sponsorship of the Nelson through 2014. The 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship will be played on May 21-24 at the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas.

“The Byron Nelson Championship is about much more than golf; it is about giving back to the community and honoring the legacy of one of golf’s greatest humanitarians, Byron Nelson,” said Michael Mendenhall, senior VP and chief marketing officer for HP. “HP is privileged to become the title sponsor of this great event.”

The change will not affect the Salesmanship Club of Dallas’ operation of the tournament, which has raised more than $107 million for the organization’s Youth and Family Centers.

“We are enthusiastic about forging a new partnership with HP,” Salesmanship Club president Frank Swingle said. “HP will be invaluable to our success and will ensure that we continue to stage one of the most anticipated events in the Metroplex while leading the PGA Tour in money raised for charity.”