Repair or Relocate Dallas City Hall Debate To Be Decided Wednesday
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It appears the fate of Dallas City Hall will be decided on Wednesday, June 10, at a special called meeting of the city council, with four voting items on the agenda determining whether taxpayers will foot the bill to repair 1500 Marilla St. or relocate municipal operations.
Two proposals on the table would authorize preliminary work toward relocating City Hall and emergency dispatch functions, albeit separately. They would allow City Manager Kimberly Tolbert to conduct due diligence on potential sites and enter into pre-development agreements.
Another item puts the repair question to a vote, asking council members to authorize one of the phased repair programs presented on June 3. Estimates to get the building into working order range from $532 million to $611 million, not counting any potential costs related to financing, temporary relocation, renovations not triggered by repair work, or equipment and furnishing.
Council members will also consider authorizing the city manager to pursue redevelopment opportunities for the City Hall property itself, a move that could advance planning for the disposition of the site if municipal functions are ultimately relocated.
In closed session, potential relocation options for both City Hall and emergency dispatch operations will be discussed. The city manager was tasked with coming up with at least two potential options for each site back in March.
Dallas officials have spent months debating whether the city should invest the money to repair the aging I.M. Pei-designed building or open the property up for redevelopment. Supporters of keeping City Hall argue the building remains structurally sound and an important piece of Dallas history and architecture, despite the years of deferred maintenance that have piled up. Meanwhile, proponents of relocation say redeveloping the site would help spur significant investment in downtown’s southern sector.
On Thursday, Mayor Eric Johnson, who has been no fan of the building’s shortcomings, stated for the first time that he supports relocating from 1500 Marilla St.
“The numbers have now been proven multiple times to be accurate, and it would be very costly to stay, and so I would be in favor, for sure, of us saving the taxpayers considerable money by leaving this obsolete building,” Johnson told CBS 11. “That would make this location available for development, which I would also support because I believe that would be a very, very big part of the future of downtown and its revitalization.”
Johnson’s comments followed a tough week for downtown boosters. Not only did the Mavericks put their serious interest in the former Valley View Center site to paper, but Saks Global said it was closing Neiman Marcus Downtown for good at the end of September and the Stars are proposing a new arena-anchored sports district in Plano. While American Airlines Center is technically just outside the central business district, that’s two major sports franchises potentially taking their activity out of the downtown area — though nothing is set in stone.
For decades, Dallas was the unquestioned economic and cultural center of North Texas, but rapidly growing suburbs such as Frisco and Plano are increasingly landing the corporate headquarters, entertainment projects, and development opportunities that once would have been expected to gravitate toward the Big D. The mayor alluded as much this past Wednesday, saying council members should take the numbers seriously and objectively assess the question before them.
“The wolf is at the door, and the wolf is not in this room,” he said. “The wolf is up the Tollway.”
