Wouldn't it be convenient to reinvent himself far from Dallas, where people didn't know the complicated and sometimes painful history of the Hunt family? As a wealthy young man and natural leader, Mr. Hunt could have scaled the social and political rungs of any city.

... Over four decades, Mr. Hunt has helped remake Dallas from an estranged American outpost to a cosmopolitan city at the crossroads of commercial and political life. His low-key personality and insistence on privacy have sometimes masked his impact on the city where his father, the eccentric oil mogul H.L. Hunt, built an empire but remained detached from civic life.

Mr. Hunt's national reputation has swelled in the past three months, owing mostly to his decision to go to Iraq in search of oil. Hunt Oil Co.'s contract raised questions about Mr. Hunt's close relationship with President Bush and prompted allegations that he stands to profit from the spoils of war.

... Most of Mr. Hunt's free time has been spent raising a family and shaping institutions that define Dallas, not working to elect Republican politicians.

... As a businessman, Mr. Hunt's motives are foremost financial. His earliest involvement in health care was intended to make Dallas into a medical referral center, hoping to strengthen a health care industry that was losing ground to Houston.

... Ray Hunt was the youngest son of H.L. Hunt, a wildcatter who was once the world's richest man. H.L. Hunt had three families by three women; six sons were older than Ray Hunt.

...  In addition to working at Hunt Oil, Mr. Hunt started a real-estate business, having started buying property while still at SMU.

Among his acreage was an old, neglected rail yard on the southwestern edge of downtown. To realize his vision of building a hotel there, Mr. Hunt courted city officials to participate in the deal.

The city, desperate for new development in downtown, agreed to spend $38 million on streets and other infrastructure to develop the area. Officials also handed over air rights and a long-term lease at Union Station. In exchange, Mr. Hunt donated property to the city that became the site of Reunion Arena.

The deal was a first for Dallas ? a partnership between big business and City Hall ? and for Mr. Hunt, who was in his early 30s and not widely known.

...  The Hyatt Regency opened in 1978, with a massive fireworks display that stopped traffic on Dallas' streets. Reunion Tower, the lollipop-shaped structure next to the Hyatt, instantly redefined Dallas' skyline.

But the residences and shops that Mr. Hunt envisioned around the hotel never followed.

... The sports teams later abandoned Reunion, and Mr. Hunt didn't develop air rights he obtained above a city parking garage.

Those shortcomings provided fodder for Mr. Hunt's critics, who have argued since then that Mr. Hunt hasn't done enough for Dallas.

Almost three decades later, sore feelings over the Hyatt deal re-emerged, as the City Council debated a $6.3 million tax break for Hunt Oil's new headquarters. Laura Miller, then Dallas' mayor and a longtime critic of Mr. Hunt, accused the company of needlessly picking the city's pockets.

Mr. Hunt's lieutenants said Hunt Oil would relocate to another city, perhaps Irving, if the company did not get the same tax break granted to other corporations in downtown Dallas.

"I believe you should only go where you are wanted," Mr. Hunt said in an interview. "And if you are not wanted somewhere, you should not stay there."

The City Council approved the deal, while Ms. Miller and council member Mitchell Rasansky voted against it.

... Mr. Scovell confirmed the company had a permit ? for demolition of an existing structure on the site ? before the council vote. The timing looked bad, he acknowledged. But Hunt Oil would have gone to Irving or elsewhere if Dallas' council had rejected its request, he said.

To Mr. Hunt's friends, the dispute underscored the occasional liability of being a Hunt. To others, it underlined a contradiction ? of the city's leading resident hectoring elected officials over a sum that amounted to a sliver of its total costs.

... Some people close to Mr. Hunt think he always intended to build in Dallas. His family has a nearly 70-year presence in the city, and leaving would have taken him away from the place he committed innumerable hours to improving.

...  Mr. Hunt has also made an impact on Dallas with his money. No single source has catalogued his philanthropy, but according to public records and newspaper accounts, Mr. Hunt and his wife have donated at least $3.2 million to causes that include shelters for abused women and homeless people, suicide hotlines and programs to help women leave sexually oriented businesses.

... Much of Mr. Hunt's philanthropy has benefited SMU. In 1993, he pledged $25 million to underwrite scholarships for young leaders. He also gathered the funding to underwrite a center for economic studies in Dr. Johnson's name, said Jack Knox, an oilman who has known Mr. Hunt since their days together at SMU.

... JPI, a developer that survived the late-1980s real-estate crash with an investment from Mr. Hunt, is poised to develop a mixed-use project in a redeveloped Trinity River corridor.

... Woodbine Development Corp., Mr. Hunt's real-estate company with Mr. Scovell, may be working with the city again. Woodbine wants to build a new, city-owned hotel near the Dallas Convention Center. Plans were scuttled earlier this year after the city and Woodbine couldn't agree on financial terms.

But the city is close to issuing a new advertisement for hotel developers. Although a surface parking lot near the convention center is considered a likely site, a cheaper site would be above the parking garage where Woodbine owns air rights.

Without having developed its rights, Woodbine could sell or trade them back to the city.

"It's almost d??vu," Mr. Scovell said. "We have something the city needs, and we'd certainly look at what other assets the city has. Is there a land exchange?"

With Ms. Miller gone from the mayor's office, the most prominent critic of such a deal is gone. Dallas' new mayor, Tom Leppert, a former construction executive, is friendly with Mr. Humann and Mr. Scovell and wants to see the hotel built. ...

Addressing members of the Dallas Citizens Council at the group's 70th anniversary luncheon, he praised the council for its support of the Trinity River Corridor project, which voters last month effectively reaffirmed in a citywide referendum.

The group donated several hundred thousand dollars to an effort to defeat a proposition that would have blocked the construction of a high-speed toll road within the Trinity River's levee walls.

... John Scovell, president and chief executive officer of Woodbine Development Corp. and the Dallas Citizens Council chairman-elect, told his membership that Mr. Leppert and Mr. Lowe ? both former Dallas Citizens Council members ? are public officials they can count on.

"We have nothing to complain about. They want to work with business," Mr. Scovell said. "We're changing back to the good old days."

... Founded in 1937, the Dallas Citizens Council is composed of many of Dallas' most powerful and influential business leaders.

Numerous politicos also attended Monday's luncheon, including most members of the Dallas City Council. Some notable ex-politicians also made appearances, such as former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, who is under federal indictment concerning allegations of numerous misdeeds, including bribery.

All Dallas City Council members were invited to the unpublicized and invitation-only event, which was held at real estate developer Ross Perot Jr.?s condominium in Dallas? W Hotel. City Manager Mary Suhm and her assistant city managers, City Attorney Tom Perkins, City Auditor Craig Kinton and City Secretary Deborah Watkins were among other invitees, the mayor's office confirmed.

Mr. Leppert says the event is purely social, and therefore, doesn?t violate state law.

?All this is seeing people and wishing them a happy holidays. It?s 110 percent social,? Mr. Leppert said. ?It?s just a chance for me to get everyone together and say thanks.?

The gathering is funded by Mr. Leppert?s private officeholder account, not taxpayer money, said Chris Heinbaugh, Mr. Leppert?s chief of staff. Asked if Dallas Morning News reporters could attend, Mr. Heinbaugh said no.

District 13 council member Mitchell Rasansky says he?s boycotting the event because he doesn?t expect his colleagues would categorically refrain from discussing public business or policy while there.

He?s also questioned the appropriateness of conducting the event at a residence of Mr. Perot. A previous council granted his company tens of millions of dollars in public subsidies to help build Dallas? Victory development, of which the W Hotel is part.

... The Texas Open Meetings Act requires public notification of and access to council gatherings where there is both a quorum -- half the body?s membership plus one -- and ?public business or public policy over which the governmental body has supervision or control is discussed or considered.?

But the act allows a council quorum to meet in private and without public notification if the event is ?a social function unrelated to the public business that is conducted by the body.?

...  ?I am going and business more than likely will not be discussed. It?s purely a social function in my opinion,? District 9 Council member Sheffie Kadane said.

Mr. Kadane added that he wasn?t concerned that the event will occur at a Perot residence.  ...