Dallas Settles With Woman Over Valuable Land

Patch of grass outside new convention center hotel will go for $162 per square foot

For more than two years Rudy's been chronicling the large legal dust-up between the city of Dallas and Carolyn McClain over 2,500 square feet at 808 Young Street — otherwise known as the Omni Hotel's front yard. For those not following along at home,here's his history-of dating back to the days when former Mayor Robert Folsom couldn't convince Hazel McClain to sell him the land. So, instead, they cut a deal for a long-term lease — 99 years, to be exact — for which Hazel would be paid tens of thousands each year. Hazel's daughter Carolyn McClain proved just as tough as her mom, which is how the City Attorney's Office wound up spending two years in court.