Nathan Hunsinger
Audio By Carbonatix
Facts and figures that City Council has been waiting on to help determine the fate of Dallas City Hall arrived on Friday, revealing an astronomical cost estimate, according to the Dallas Morning News.
“Years of neglected maintenance at Dallas City Hall have come due, and the bill is steep: more than $1 billion over 20 years,” the Morning News report stated.
The City Council’s Finance Committee will be briefed on the full results of the reports from the Dallas Economic Development Corporation and an engineering consultant on Monday, but the Morning News reported that a 45-page summary of the findings revealed some eye-popping numbers.
According to the summary, $329 million is needed to address the building’s “most urgent problems, like its failing roof, outdated electrical systems and plumbing,” which is in line with what the last estimate the council received in October, when the council heard that the total cost of deferred maintenance could be as much as $345 million.
However, the summary goes well beyond the immediate needs for the I.M. Pei-designed building that opened in 1978.
“But if the city wants to fully modernize the building and make it functional for employees, the total cost range jumps between $906 million and $1.1 billion, including between $299 million and $360 million in financing costs if the city borrows money for the project over 20 years, according to the summary,” the Morning News report noted.
In November, the council voted 12-3 to direct City Manager Kimberly Tolbert to explore alternatives to the current City Hall building and conduct an economic analysis of the area. The vote came soon after reports that the Dallas Mavericks were interested in making 1500 Marilla Street the site of its new stadium. Since then, the status and fate of downtown as a viable urban business district has come into question, with AT&T announcing in January that it will relocate its headquarters in 2028 after an 18-year stint near City Hall.
There have been recent meetings to discuss the possibility of designating City Hall as a historical landmark, which would throw a wrench into any plan to move forward with selling and possibly demolishing. City Council members Cara Mendelsohn and Paul Ridley have been vocal in their opposition to any plan to sell the property, along with prominent architectural and preservationist groups that say the building is historically significant and structurally sound, although the latest report could call the building’s integrity into question.
Former Mayor Tom Leppert is among the voices, along with some notable property developers who have been in favor of the city selling the property and moving City Hall into one of the many downtown buildings that currently have enough space. Thanks to its unique location, the land on which City Hall sits is considered a plot that rarely becomes available for new downtown development and could, proponents suggest, help spur revitalization in the central business district.
The City Council’s Finance Committee will hear more information from the EDC’s report on Monday at noon.
