Years of deferred maintenance over the last 47 years have left Dallas City Hall with a steep repair bill that is estimated to cost more than $345 million.
City staff are preparing three options for the city council. One would be to stay put and address issues as they come up. Another is to develop a phased approach to address the deferred maintenance. The last would be to relocate city hall to a skyscraper in downtown.
Those three options were presented to the Finance Committee during its Tuesday meeting.
Dallas City Hall was designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei with a distinct modern style, with the front plaza's 180-degree diameter pool reflected on the windows of the inverted pyramid design. The building officially opened in 1978.
Now water leaks, obsolete electrical systems, plumbing failure, roof replacement, and lack of accessibility code compliance are among a steep repair list. Addressing all deferred maintenance could range from $152 million to more than $345 million, according to estimates from city staff.
John Johnson, director of facilities and real estate management, said city hall is not at risk of falling down. But the city has operated on a "run until failure" model at city hall and does not have the money to address all the building's deferred maintenance.
Out of the city's $36 million operating budget for facilities and real estate management, around $4.5 million is set aside for repair and maintenance, Johnson said.
Council Member Chad West, who is also finance committee chair, said continuing to address maintenance issues as they come up was not an option.
That leaves either a voter-approved bond program to establish funds for the deferred maintenance, which could take about five years.
However, Council Member Kathy Stewart said city hall maintenance has not performed well in past bond processes.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn is not on the Finance Committee but she was able to ask questions at the meeting. She said it was unacceptable that the city did not have the funds to address maintenance issues.
"So this is a budgeting failure, this building is not a failure," Mendelsohn said.
She said maintenance for city hall was not discussed during the 2024 bond process, but a plea for it to be added to the bond was made toward the end of the process. Last year the max was estimated to cost less than $150 million.
"Now we're talking about over $300 million? We don't have that kind of inflation," Mendelsohn said. "So something's happened. I think staff is steering us to get rid of this building and I think you want it for other uses."
She added that there were real estate developers in the audience at the meeting and suggested the proposal to move was a real estate play. The city hall discussions come as the Dallas Mavericks look to relocate from American Airlines Center.
"If this is a conversation about the Mavericks, that's a very different conversation," Mendelsohn said. "But taking care of our building is the responsibility of city government."
Moving on and up
City staff told council members that the market is favorable for Dallas to make the move to a high-rise — if they choose that route — due to high office space availability. The convention center is expected to be complete by spring 2029, which would create a larger district if the city hall was located nearby.
If Dallas were to relocate its city hall, several skyscrapers were listed by city staff as potential options. They are:
- Harwood Center
- Ross Tower
- Renaissance Tower
- The Sinclair
- 717 N Harwood
- Bank of America Plaza
- Comerica Bank Tower
- 1700 Pacific
- Dallas Arts Tower
- One Main
- Fountain Place
Assistant City Manager Donzell Gipson said no discussions have been made with property owners as of Tuesday.
It would not be the first time a city hall has relocated to a high-rise.
The city of Fort Worth held a ribbon cutting for its new city hall, located at the former Pier 1 building, this year.
Fort Worth bought the Pier 1 building in 2021 for nearly $70 million in 2021. Final project costs resulted in a $226.5 million price tag, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Sriram Villupuram, a finance and real estate professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said Dallas city council's decision will ultimately rest on financial efficiency.
Moving to a high-rise would allow the city to sell its current 11.8 acre property and put the money toward purchase and renovation costs for the new location.
"Is the average taxpayer being benefited by this?" Villupuram said. "Are they having better services because the city is now moving to a different building? I think before doing all that, those are things that need to be thought through."
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