The city of Dallas released several design concepts and feedback in response to its open call for ideas on what to do with the current City Hall site.
The call for concepts was in response to the City Council directing City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to pursue options to redevelop the City Hall site earlier this year. Council members also asked staff to look into repair costs for City Hall.
There were 418 responses submitted.
Several people left comments about replacing the building with other uses like a recreation center or turning it into an arena for the Dallas Mavericks — who are scouting locations for a new arena.
More than 300 out of the 418 responses wanted to repair or restore the current building, which was designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei.
Architectural design plans and AI generated renderings were also submitted. Some of those plans proposed replacing the building with an arena or sports stadium. Others explored ways of incorporating an arena for the Mavericks as an extension of the current building or creating a walkable community space around the property while leaving the building intact.
KERA received several of these renderings but attribution of certain concepts was unclear at time of publication.
One design concept was submitted by the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs students. The plan was created by fifteen students lead by professor Eduardo Castaneda worked with the Ten Presidents — ten former American Institute of Architects Dallas presidents.
They designed a "15-minute city" that sought to preserve history, provide housing, connect the city's central business district to the Cedars, all while integrating an arena for the Mavericks.
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