AIA Dallas Director Pitches $70M-$100M Repair Plan for City Hall

At a packed resident town hall last week, AIA Dallas executive director Zaida Basora proposed a 10-year phased plan to repair Dallas City Hall for a fraction of the city’s roughly $1 billion estimate.

That $1 billion figure has been criticized for assuming an all-at-once approach: relocating the entire City Hall staff during construction, replacing major building systems rather than repairing them, using above-typical cost estimates, and including 20 years of financing. Critics say the scale of that estimate has helped fuel calls to abandon or redevelop the site rather than repair the building.

City staff were later asked to model two phased repair options, following a resolution adopted by City Council last month. Staff and consultants had initially dismissed a phased approach, assuming it would cost more and be complicated by asbestos-containing materials in the building.

Dallas City Hall Repairs Pegged at $1B — But Is That the Real Cost?

Basora, who previously worked for the City of Dallas as assistant director of Facilities Architecture & Engineering, argued the estimated $1 billion plan amounts to gutting the building and starting over, despite consultants finding it structurally sound.

“No evidence of widespread structural instability was observed at the time of the assessment,” reads a staff presentation on the findings. “Deficiencies were localized and need to be addressed.”

Basora proposed focusing on updating critical emergency functions and stopping active water intrusion first. Items in that bucket include a roof replacement, waterproofing the plaza, replacing the emergency power system, and priority garage repairs. She said all that should be done in the first two years.

Next would come core building systems like critical piping, the cooling system, failure-prone HVAC components, and any electrical equipment in need of repair or replacement. Structural repairs where needed to strengthen joint and drainage deficiencies should also be done in this stage, which would span 3-5 years.

The following few years could be spent on remaining garage, envelope, and interior work opened up by earlier phases of repair. Getting the facility ADA-compliant could also be accomplished during this window, with the last couple of years dedicated to modernization and tenant improvements.

“The question is not whether City Hall needs investment. The question is whether Dallas should sequence that investment intelligently before making irreversible choices,” she said in her presentation.

All told, Basora said this 10-year targeted plan would cost $70-100 million and could be accomplished without moving everyone out of the building all at once.

“Zaida’s plan shows a path,” said preservation architect Marcel Quimby. “I’m a firm supporter of this plan. It makes sense. The phased construction is a brilliant idea and is used all over. The modernization of the George Allen building was done this way… They did all that construction with a working jail in place.”

A public discussion followed Basora’s presentation, where the overwhelming sentiment was skepticism toward any city plan that would include demolishing 1500 Marilla St. — a possibility raised in recent redevelopment discussions. Town hall attendees included many architects and preservation advocates who have opposed the idea since it surfaced last fall, along with several state officials representing parts of Dallas.

“With all due respect to current and former city staff, somehow, over and over, when big issues come up involving the top echelon of staff, there is a mendacity that is involved from beginning to end,” said Rep. John Bryant (D-114). “Suddenly, we read one day it will cost half a billion dollars to save City Hall. Overnight, it comes up, then two of our former mayors out of nowhere write that it should be torn down. Obviously, this movement was underway a lot longer than we know.”

Critics have raised concerns that the push toward redevelopment is part of an effort by staff and some elected officials to accommodate the Dallas Mavericks, who are looking to build a new arena and 50-acre entertainment district, preferably downtown. Local media reporting indicates that City Manager Kimberly Tolbert broached the subject of relocating City Hall operations to Mavericks CEO Rick Welts more than a year ago, months before Mayor Eric Johnson charged the new Finance Committee with assessing 1500 Marilla St.’s fiscal viability.

Staff and officials with the Dallas Economic Development Corporation have defended the integrity of the property condition assessment that projected a $1 billion repair cost. Mayor Johnson and others on the city council who have been more open to relocation have pushed back on insinuations of conspiracy, despite acknowledging staff could have done a better job with the process and that the city needs to earn back some trust.

City Hall Roundup: Oh Boy, More Than a Year Ago?

“Downtown is still one of the biggest net-tax donors for our city in terms of what it provides in property and sales tax revenue compared to what the city spends in downtown. There are signs of an ever-improving Downtown Dallas, but we must support it rather than constrain it,” Council Member Chad West (District 1) said in a newsletter earlier this month.

Many see a massive redevelopment of the City Hall site as a potential jumpstart to revitalizing downtown’s southern district, though some argue this could be accomplished without demolishing 1500 Marilla St.

West said the decision before officials isn’t just about the fate of a historic building, but rather about the priorities of residents who consistently emphasize things like public safety, street repairs, and municipal services in surveys and town hall meetings.

“I’m not saying that maintenance of city-owned properties is not important — I actually hope that this serves as a wake-up call to my colleagues that even if maintenance doesn’t come up in discussions with taxpayers, we have a fiscal responsibility as stewards of your tax dollars to make sure we are taking care of our city-owned property. But as we have this conversation, I’d be remiss to ignore years of input from all of you about what city services and infrastructure impact your life the most.”

Whichever direction the city council ultimately goes, it’s looking like it’ll be an uphill climb. Tolbert recently implemented emergency measures to mitigate a projected budget shortfall totaling tens of millions of dollars. Money for restoring City Hall or leasing a new facility will be in a fierce competition with everything else amid unreliable sales tax revenue and commitments to increased spending on public safety.

Staff will brief the city council in late May on phased repair scenarios, funding strategies, and relocation and redevelopment options, less than two months before the Mavericks are expected to make a decision on where to build their new arena.