Downtown Dallas Inc.: 'Dallas City Hall is no longer serving its intended purpose'

DALLAS - An advocacy group for Downtown Dallas believes it is time for the city to move on from its current City Hall location.

The nonprofit Downtown Dallas Inc. expressed its support to relocate City Hall from its current site at 1500 Marilla Street during its annual meeting and luncheon on Friday.

A recent report commissioned by the City of Dallas shows it will cost up to $1.4 billion over the next 20 years to repair and renovate the 47-year-old building.

Downtown Dallas Inc. Calls for City Hall Relocation

What they're saying:

"We believe Dallas City Hall is no longer serving its intended purpose. The important functions that happen and must continue to be evolved and innovated within our city government are inefficient and truly stymied in that space," said Jennifer Scripps, President and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc. told the crowd. "Our board called a special called meeting and voted unanimously in support of pursuing options to relocate City Hall and redevelop the site. We were we feel that the opportunity is huge."

Scripps says the redevelopment of the site offers an opportunity to connect downtown to southern Dallas.

"[The redeveloped City Hall site would] help us breathe life into the long dormant southern side of downtown and to finally restitch downtown to southern Dallas. This will further grow our residential population and bring activity to re-energize downtown for years to come," she said.

Scripps also called for any future city hall building to be within the highway loop in Downtown Dallas.

Dallas City Hall Future

What's next:

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has called for a special city council meeting on Wednesday to vote on a resolution to look at redevelopment options for City Hall and possible locations for city operations to continue during the repair process.

Johnson's office issued a memo calling for a meeting at noon on Wednesday, March 4. Initially, council members were only set to be briefed on the state of the building.

The vote would direct City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to move 311, 911 and emergency operations to new government center locations as quickly as possible, look into options to relocate all other city hall staff and functions to new government center locations and to pursue options for redeveloping the city hall site.

On Monday, the city's Economic Development Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the future of City Hall. 

What we know:

Experts who assessed Dallas City Hall said the 47-year-old building’s mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems don’t meet modern standards. 

While the building is in no danger of falling down, a report released on Friday also found a failing roof and asbestos. 

It put a $906 million to $1.4 billion price tag on keeping the iconic building, which was designed by the famous Chinese architect I.M. Pei, for another 20 years.

That number is much higher than the $152 to $345 million estimate for repairs given this past fall. That’s because the new estimate includes $100 million to relocate staff members during the renovation process for efficiency and to avoid an asbestos issue.

It also includes $299 to $360 million in interest for 20-year financing.

What we don't know:

The city has not commented on the possible costs of buying, leasing or building a new city hall.

No estimates have been released about the potential sale price of the building and land in its current state. It has been rumored the site has caught the attention of the Dallas Mavericks, who are looking at sites for a new arena.

The other side:

The Save Dallas City Hall Coalition, a group of architects and preservation activists, are questioning the $1 billion number, which is 23% higher than the cost to rebuild Notre Dame.

The group believes the projected price tag is something you might see for a much larger, more public project. It pointed to a 2018 study that estimated $37 to $39 million in repairs.