Dallas College has selected four development teams as finalists to plan a reimagined, expanded downtown El Centro College Campus after several decades of serving students.
The identities of the finalists were not revealed, but Dallas College told The Dallas Morning News on Friday the community college system is planning to issue a request for proposals in December for the project. This would give the finalists an opportunity to pitch plans and pricing to redesign the downtown campus. A final selection of a development partner is expected in spring.
The expansion of El Centro comes as area leaders look to bolster workforce development for future of North Texas and as business leaders strive to revitalize downtown Dallas and retain key employers.
Progress on the project comes as business leaders strive to revitalize downtown Dallas and retain key employers.
Downtown’s evolution is unfolding amid reports that AT&T is shopping for new office space north of Dallas, while Sycamore Development plans to convert the Magnolia Building into apartments and a hotel. The Neiman Marcus store downtown will stay open through this year’s holiday season, but its long-term future remains uncertain as conversations are ongoing regarding the site’s future use.
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Downtown Dallas, Inc. President and CEO Jennifer Scripps said in a statement that the project is central to the city’s future and partnership with Dallas College. The expansion is “an incredible step for the future” of downtown, she said.
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“The new campus will bring more students, talent, and economic activity into Downtown, strengthening long-term growth and our continued transformation into a complete and thriving neighborhood,” she said.
For the expansion and renovation of El Centro, Dallas College will use funds from the $1.1 billion bond initiative approved by voters in 2019. The growth and redesign of the campus at 801 Main Street illustrates the college’s continued commitment to Dallas for 60 years, according to the college.
“We’re not just staying, we’re deepening that commitment for generations to come,” Dallas College Chancellor Justin Lonon said in a statement.
Another inspiration for “reimagining” the Dallas College El Centro campus location was Amazon’s decision in 2018 to skip over Dallas for Virginia and New York to host its headquarters, Lonon told The Dallas Morning News during a recent editorial board meeting.
Justin Lonon, (right) chancellor of Dallas College speaks in a panel with Mike Waldrip, (left) superintendent of Frisco ISD, and Christy Pambianchi, (center right), chief human resources officer, Caterpillar Inc., during YMCA Key Leaders Luncheon, on Oct. 2, 2025, in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
When Amazon selected Virginia, Lonon said Amazon acknowledged Virginia’s strong higher education ecosystem. That’s when Dallas realized it needs to reimagine the role of Dallas College and the downtown campus, he said.
“Dallas College has the largest network of Bloomberg terminals in any two-year college in the country. There’s this little thing called Y’all Street perhaps that becomes important to this conversation as well,” Lonon said, referring to the upstart Texas Stock Exchange Group.
Bloomberg terminal software lets people follow and study financial markets, news, and trades in one place. Those tools, and more space, can help Dallas College bolster the region’s business and financial workforce, Lonon said, which will benefit businesses as well.
“We’re doing things,” he said, “but with new space, new focus, we can do that even more seamlessly.”
El Centro history
Dallas residents created the Dallas County Junior College District in 1965. The Sanger Bros. Department Store building on Main Street was purchased for more than $2 million to serve as the first campus, college archives show. El Centro College, the district’s first location, opened in 1966.
That space, which welcomed 4,047 students on opening day, laid the foundation for what is now the flagship campus of Dallas College, which serves over 120,000 students annually across seven campuses, according to the college.
Its name reflects its location in the center of Dallas’ downtown area, according to the college.
El Centro was the first Dallas College campus to offer a nursing program and establish relationships with hospitals in the Dallas area, according to the college’s archives.
In 1968, the college graduated 153 students from that campus, and it underwent three campus expansions between 1972 and 1977.
Over the decades, El Centro grew into a hub for workforce training, health sciences, and early college education, establishing the Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School and the Bill J. Priest Campus for economic development, college archives show.
The campus also hosted several dignitaries as guest speakers, including U.S. Rep. Earle Cabell and civil rights leader Julian Bond.
El Centro earned Hispanic-serving Institution status in 2001, opened facilities for allied health and nursing in the West End, and later became the first Dallas County structure to harness its own wind power, with rooftop wind turbines powering its downtown campus, archives show.
In 2020, El Centro acquired a 50,000-square-foot kitchen in northwest Dallas for its culinary arts and baking/pastry program.
El Centro became part of the unified Dallas College in 2020 when the system received single accreditation.
2019 bond
The future of the Dallas College El Centro campus is partially predicated upon a billion-dollar bond.
In May 2019, Dallas County voters approved borrowing $1.1 billion to construct, improve, renovate and equip buildings for Dallas College.
The distribution of the 2019 bond program money involved $235 million for industry-aligned workforce projects and programs; $332 million for student-related instruction and success programs, and $535 million for the Dallas Education and Innovation Hub, according to Dallas College.
That also includes a new Dallas Education and Innovation Hub downtown, featuring a business training center and the redesigned El Centro campus, according to the college. Additionally, the hub would serve as a technology and innovation center for businesses trying to grow and for entrepreneurs seeking assistance.
Under Phase 1 of the latest bond program, Dallas College has created more than 500,000 square feet of academic and innovation space across its campuses and workforce centers, according to the college.
Dallas College is also working on a new health sciences center for excellence in the medical district. Next month, a new early college high school on the Mountain View Campus will open as well. The 45,000-square-foot facility will serve students earning college credits while still in high school.
“We look forward to working with the finalist teams and developing public private partnerships to bring this vision to life,” Lonon’s statement said, “designing every square foot with purpose to elevate student success, strengthen workforce pipelines and foster innovative spaces where ideas thrive.”
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.