Virgin Hotels has announced plans to open a new 200-bedroom hotel in the Design District of Dallas, Texas, in 2018.

The development will be a new build located within 33 acres (133,500sq m) that developer Dunhill Partners and its founder, Bill Hutchinson, acquired in 2014. Included will be multiple dining options, a rooftop terrace with a pool, gym and spa, plus numerous meeting spaces. The neighbourhood includes furniture showrooms, art galleries, museums, antique shops, restaurants and shopping.

The property – which will be the company’s fourth branded hotel – will be managed by Virgin Hotels and developed by Dunhill Partners, Vinculum Partners and The Crosland Group.

“We’re ecstatic to be a part of the new fabric of the Dallas Design District, and play a role in continuation of the neighbourhood’s growth,” said Raul Leal, Virgin Hotels CEO. “With chic stores, eclectic galleries and upscale restaurants, we expect Virgin Hotels Dallas to move into the neighbourhood seamlessly, as its aesthetic and offerings will attract the growing local creative class and business travellers that will call the Design District home.”

“I could not have found a more perfect hotel for the Design District and everything it offers to the City of Dallas than Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels,” added Bill Hutchinson, president of Dunhill Partners. “It will be the heartbeat of the hottest entertainment district and the biggest jewel in our crown.”

Virgin Hotels opened its first location in Chicago earlier this year, and just this month, debuted the brand's first spa there. Nashville and New York hotels and spas are slated to open next.

The company said it is continuing to explore properties in cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and London, and is pursuing both hotel and office conversions as well as ground-up development.