As Dallas grapples with unknowns surrounding American Airlines Center, the downtown Neiman Marcus store, and AT&T’s move to the suburbs, another high-stakes question is looming: What should happen to Dallas City Hall?
In November, the Dallas City Council voted to explore alternatives to the current building after estimates put repair costs between $152 million and $345 million. What began as a facilities discussion has quickly evolved into something larger. The Dallas Mavericks are widely believed to be evaluating the site as part of broader redevelopment plans that could include demolishing the building. (The team is also considering the former Valley View Mall site at Preston Road and Interstate 635.)
That possibility has ignited a preservation-versus-redevelopment debate that is now playing out across civic, architectural, and business circles.
In the same week that a Landmark Commission committee meeting convened to discuss the process for landmarking Dallas City Hall, another meeting unfolded down the street. The Dallas Architecture Forum and the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture hosted a public forum supporting a “Save City Hall” campaign.
Headlining the panel were Dallas Institute Director Seemee Ali, architect Bob Meckfessel, and Cullum Clark, director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. Event moderator Eurico Fransisco, principal at PerkinsWill, framed the mood bluntly: “Some of us are more than upset. We are in sheer disbelief by the news.”
Meckfessel argued that preservation has been central to downtown’s revival. “Over 40 projects downtown have used federal, state and local tax credits and incentives to renovate them,” he said. “If it weren’t for preservation, and if it weren’t for using those smart developments, downtown would not have been reborn.”
Clark urged a broader lens. If the building were replaced, he said, the real question is what would rise in its place. “I would suggest, if there has to be a replacement, replace it with a vibrant, actual mixed-use neighborhood,” he said. “Imagine a place where not all the buildings are super tall, that has a wide variety of things going on there. There’s one heck of a lot of land over there.”
If the building remains, Clark added, the surrounding area would still need rethinking. “We do need to figure out how to surround it with a much greater density of walkable places and activities,” he said, noting the lack of pedestrian activity around the site.
State of Play
While preservation advocates mobilize, the city’s formal evaluation is underway. Dallas Economic Development Corp. CEO Linda McMahon is leading an assessment of the building and the broader site. Findings are due later this month.
“Stay tuned,” McMahon said at a North Dallas Chamber of Commerce panel this morning. “The work paints a very clear picture of what the situation is in City Hall and where the opportunities are,” McMahon said. “And downtown is definitely where the opportunities are.”
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Chuck Dannis, Linda McMahon, Jennifer Scripps, and Mike Ablon at a Feb. 12 panel hosted by the North Dallas Chamber. Photo by Audrey Henvey
Also on the panel were NVC’s Chuck Dannis, PegasusAblon’s Mike Ablon, and Downtown Dallas Inc. President Jennifer Scripps, who offered perhaps the clearest argument for reconsideration.
“DDI does not have an official stance yet,” she noted, “However, I really believe this: I worked at City Hall for six years. It was a wise and prudent thing for AT&T to evaluate how and where their employees work. It was a wise and prudent thing for Bank of America to decide after 40 years that they want new digs. They acquired Merrill Lynch, they have grown and their workforce has changed.
So, “why would we not let our city government re-evaluate how they office every 40 years?” Scripps continued. “It is absurd to me that government is expected to be crystallized in amber and left in a building because it’s deemed historic, and they have offices in Oak Cliff that are in no way developer-friendly.
“Everybody wants government to work, and they want them to be leaner, meaner, adapting to technology, attracting talent,” Scripps said. “This is a great process… and it’s an enormous opportunity for downtown.”
Meanwhile, Ablon—who has joined forces with Mike Hoque to undergo a sweeping reinvention of the nearby Bank of America Plaza—suggested broader change is coming to downtown Dallas. “I’ll say, because I didn’t sign an NDA, there’s going to be a city hall that’s getting worked on, but there’s also going to be a new arena in downtown. You’re going to see more cranes in the west side of downtown and wrapped around than in 40 years. It’s going to happen.”
For now, momentum hinges on the EDC report. McMahon will present the findings to the City Council’s finance committee and the full council on Feb. 23 and March 4, respectively.
At stake is how Dallas balances preservation with reinvention—and what role it wants its civic core to play in the city’s next era.