Developers want to change the Dallas skyline with a giant Ferris wheel just south of downtown.

Called the Texas Odyssey, the more than 500-foot tall observation wheel would be built on the banks of the Trinity River. It would be larger than the famous London Eye wheel and more than twice as tall as the Texas Star at Dallas' Fair Park.

The developers have filed a zoning request with the city to build the planned tourist attraction on Riverfront Boulevard south of Interstate 35E. The site next to Dallas' Cedars neighborhood was previously planned for a maritime museum featuring the just decommissioned Navy submarine USS Dallas.

"The seven-acre site we have under contract is part of a 60-acre tract of land," said Florida businessman David Taggart, one of the principals in the venture. "We are marching forward, putting the pieces of the project together."

Taggart said the developers have been scouting the state for a couple of years, looking for the perfect location to erect their giant wheel.

"We looked at San Antonio and Houston and some other cities," he said. "Everything came together in Dallas both in terms of visitor numbers and where they congregate.

"We saw what was going on in Dallas and the Cedars area and that's where it all came together," Taggart said.

The world's biggest Ferris wheel is in Dubai and is about 630 feet tall. It's set to open later this year.

The developers say the ride of the wheel will be a "38-minute voyage, which will feature an engaging multimedia and multisensory journey."

Retail and restaurant construction is planned on the seven-acre site, along with an education center, an outdoor performance venue and a 1,000-car parking garage.

"Visitors will be able to access and experience the Trinity River via pathways and walk-throughs for pedestrians, as well as public spaces on and around the wheel site," an announcement for the project says.

Don't be lining up for tickets just yet.

"We are working through our entitlement process and we hope to get through that by the end of summer," Taggart said. "We have about a year of predevelopment and hopefully will have the shovel in the ground about a year from September.

"It's about a 27-month [construction] process after that."

Taggart said the observation wheel would house riders in capsules or gondolas.

"They are fabricated — usually overseas — then shipped over in pieces, trucked up to the site and then assembled," he said.

Developers want to build a giant observation wheel on the Trinity River south of downtown Dallas that would be bigger than the London Eye. (Eye of Texas LLC)

Dallas officials say they are onboard with the idea for the towering attraction.

"This will be a great compliment to the years of revitalization and investments in the Cedars neighborhood," Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano said in a statement. "This project along with the upcoming high-speed rail station, which will open directly adjacent to the Texas Odyssey and the Dallas Water Gardens, will be tremendous assets to the city of Dallas."

City officials and community leaders have been working for years to spur development south of downtown and along the Trinity River. The redevelopment of the Cedars neighborhood has brought hundreds of new apartments, townhouses, condominiums and hotel rooms to the area.

Developers of the proposed high-speed "bullet" train that would link Dallas to Houston plan to locate the Dallas terminal on Riverfront Boulevard south of downtown.

"Our vision for the iconic Texas Odyssey is for it to be a seamlessly integrated part of downtown Dallas, a must-do experience for visitors and a great asset and community partner for the individuals and families in North Texas," Michael Beucler, partner in the observation wheel firm, Eye of Texas LLC. "We believe this project, in this location at this time will be the catalyst for the next era of growth around the Cedars and the Trinity River just as the London Eye sparked the rejuvenation of the Docklands area near the River Thames."

Beucler owns a Dallas real estate company, Beucler Properties, which is described as a commercial developer with previous projects in the U.S, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America.

Taggart said the developers plan to fund the Dallas observation wheel with funds from private investors and debt.

"This is the latest in a line of great new attractions for southern Dallas," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a statement. "This is sure to be very entertaining and it shows us all that GrowSouth is working."

Cities all over the U.S. are getting on the wheel bandwagon with new proposed projects.

Las Vegas opened its 550-foot High Roller wheel in 2014. Seattle opened its 175-foot waterfront observation wheel in 2012. Also in 2012, New York developers proposed a 625-foot Ferris wheel, planned as the world's largest, that was to be part of a retail and hotel complex along the Staten Island.

The Texas Star at Fair Park has a height of 212 feet and was the tallest Ferris wheel in North America when it opened in 1985.