What's New in Westlake's Solana District This Fall 2026?
This fall, two Westlake developments stand out: the reopening of a steakhouse at Solana and a school building addition at Westlake Academy. With a population hovering around 2,148, the town's local updates offer a close-up of its business and school activity.
Solana, the mixed-use office and hotel complex along Solana Boulevard, was designed by architect Ricardo Legorreta and broke ground under a master plan covering roughly 1,800 acres back in 1987, originally built to house IBM's corporate campus. For context, Southlake Town Square, the shopping and dining district most DFW residents picture when they think of a "town center" in this part of Tarrant County, didn't open until 2006. Solana was already pushing 20 years old by the time its now-famous neighbor existed at all.
That timeline offers context for how Solana's recent update differs from the downtown districts of Southlake, Colleyville, and Flower Mound. Solana is a corporate campus, and this year its hotel and dining offerings were refreshed.
The property long known as the Marriott Westlake, at 1301 Solana Boulevard, reopened this spring as The Ricardo Marriott, a name that honors Legorreta's original design. Dallas-based Coury Hospitality led the renovation on behalf of owners NewcrestImage and Dabu Group, and the centerpiece wasn't the guest rooms. It was the food.
Four new dining concepts came out of the relaunch: House of Toro Chophouse & Patio, a Latin-inflected steakhouse helmed by chef de cuisine Nate Sanders, whose résumé includes the openings of Carbone in Dallas and Trick Rider in Frisco; Black Pearl Lounge, a tableside caviar and cocktail bar tucked just past the dining room; Solana Kitchen + Lounge for all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner; and Café31 for Lavazza coffee and grab-and-go pastries. Coury Hospitality president Andrew Casperson called the reopening "an exciting new chapter for this property," according to CultureMap Fort Worth.
| Spot | Where | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| House of Toro Chophouse & Patio | 1301 Solana Blvd | Steaks and a patio built for wine dinners |
| Black Pearl Lounge | 1301 Solana Blvd | Tableside caviar, craft cocktails |
| Solana Kitchen + Lounge | 1301 Solana Blvd | All-day dining, breakfast through dinner |
| Café31 | 1301 Solana Blvd | Lavazza coffee, pastries, grab-and-go |
The renovation gets the headlines, but the same 1301 Solana Boulevard address that now houses House of Toro also holds two businesses that never needed a rebrand. Sip | Stir Coffee House, a husband-and-wife-owned shop just a few suites over, has built its identity around being the kind of place where neighbors linger rather than grab and go. La Scala Pizzeria, sharing that same building, has been family-owned and operated since 1996. A few blocks over, in the Terraces at 1500 Solana Boulevard, Terra Lounge and Cross Timbers Market handle the same job for the office tenants on that side of the street, client happy hours and quick lunches between meetings.
Together, these businesses complement the hotel’s new dining concepts with familiar options for residents and office tenants.
The other project residents are watching sits on the Westlake Academy campus, and it's easy to miss if you're not looking for it. The Sam and Margaret Lee Arts & Sciences Addition, a two-story, roughly 22,000-square-foot expansion designed by BRW Architects, broke ground earlier this year to add advanced science labs, art studios, and flexible classroom space for the school's International Baccalaureate program. The project carries an estimated cost of $15 to $16 million.
By the town's July 21 council meeting, the building's foundation was reported structurally complete, with plumbing already roughed in. Town staff said back in May that the next visible milestone, heavy timber framing, was on track for early fall. If you drive past the Academy in the coming weeks and see timber going up where there was only a foundation before, that's the town hitting the checkpoint it's been tracking in public meetings since spring.
It's worth remembering the original Arts and Sciences Center on that same campus was funded in part by a donation from Margaret Lee in memory of her husband Sam, alongside a capital campaign and municipal debt. The building going up now carries their name forward into its second expansion.
Westlake's population has grown by roughly 30 percent since the 2020 census. Town council meetings include updates on Westlake Academy alongside municipal business. Municipal offices operated out of the Academy's own buildings for years before moving off-site as the school grew.
The hotel relaunch and the Academy addition are distinct developments in Westlake this season. Together, they bring attention to hospitality at Solana and education at Westlake Academy.
For residents planning around it, the concrete dates worth knowing:
These events add to Westlake's fall calendar, alongside the hotel relaunch and Academy addition described above.
If you're curious what the renovation at Solana and the Academy addition may mean for property values on your side of Solana Boulevard, that's a conversation DFW Moore Homes is always happy to have. Let's Connect.
Lorraina Moore is dedicated to helping you find your dream home and assisting with any selling needs you may have. Contact her today to start your home searching journey!