Leaders could vote on the future of Dallas City Hall next week
Dallas leaders expected to vote on city hall future
Should Dallas' iconic city hall building be renovated or replaced? Leaders could vote next week on the issue.
DALLAS - What happens to Dallas City Hall could be decided in a matter of days.
On Tuesday, the Dallas City Council’s finance committee recommended that city staff move forward with developing a list of new city hall sites that could be purchased or leased.
Meanwhile, the people who want to save the iconic city hall building designed by famed architect I.M. Pei will have their opportunity to speak next Wednesday.
Dallas City Hall’s Future
What's new:
The finance committee decided on Tuesday to have city staff develop a list of sites Dallas could lease or buy for a new city hall location. They will also study the best use of the current building and determine the value of the site.
That information will be presented to the full city council next Wednesday so that leaders can vote on a plan to either make repairs to the current building or find a new home.
What they're saying:
Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis asked staff about what amenities a new building might have that would attract city hall employees. Among those mentioned was a wine bar.
"Advanced food service on site, café, wine bar, full-service food operation, Wi-Fi green space environments accessible to the public, higher quality fitness center for the staff that work in here," added Brian Thompson, Dallas’ assistant director of facilities.
"So when we talk about amenities, we are not talking about luxury. We are talking about things offered around the city and nation, public transit, security critical in this day and age," Willis said.
Council members Cara Mendlesohn and Paul Ridley hosted a town hall meeting on Monday night for members of the public to share their opinions.
Most people who spoke out said they wanted to save Dallas City Hall.
Renovate or Move?
Dallas weighs costs of repairing, leasing city hall
The Dallas City Council is still considering the options as they decide between repairing or leasing city hall.
The backstory:
Last month, the Dallas City Council received an update on the state of city hall.
On Monday, staff suggested renovations would cost between $152 million to $345 million, with more costs added for bond debt.
Leasing an office tower for 10 years would cost an estimated $200 million. While that number is lower than the cost of repairs, the expenses would continue beyond the 10-year mark.
There’s no plan yet for where the city will get the roughly $20 million per year for a lease.
In 2017, Dallas voters approved $12.5 million that could be used to renovate the current building. That money has sat unused.
Dallas leaders compare cost of repairing city hall vs leasing office space
Dallas city staff on Monday told council members that moving out and leasing a new building would be more cost-effective over 10 years. But some council members questioned how little staff expected a move to cost and how much it would take to repair the existing building.
Councilman Ridley questioned why that money hasn’t been deployed in eight years.
"I don’t have specific answers to that. A lot of other priorities have come before the ones at city hall," said Jenny Nicewander, the director of bond and construction management.
"So staff did not think it was a high priority, put city hall on the back burner, and now they’re bringing those deficiencies forward to justify doing away with city hall," Ridley replied.
While there’s speculation that the Dallas Mavericks are interested in the land beneath Dallas City Hall because it’s next to the new convention center, the team has not confirmed that.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Tuesday's Dallas finance committee meeting and past news coverage.