Dallas City Council members on May 20 will get fresh details about repair costs and relocation options for City Hall as they move toward a decision that could reshape a key stretch of downtown.
In a memo Friday, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said the presentation will outline what repairs to the City Hall and City Hall Plaza are being prioritized, including how future cost estimates are being calculated.
The council also will be briefed in private on possible relocation options for 911 and 311 operations, and emergency management offices.
The meeting is expected to add to the increasingly caustic debate on whether the city should invest in the nearly 50-year-old building or move elsewhere so the site can be redeveloped, possibly for a new Dallas Mavericks arena and entertainment district.
Consultants earlier this year estimated repairs at $329 million in corrective work and $1 billion over two decades for full modernization.
Ahead of the briefing, pressure over City Hall’s future is intensifying.
Former Mayor Mike Rawlings on Thursday launched a campaign aimed at rallying civic and business leaders behind relocating City Hall, saying the aging building is failing and that moving out could free up valuable downtown land for redevelopment and economic growth.
Rawlings’ effort, called Say Yes to Dallas, features newspaper and digital ads, a website and social media messaging.
Opposing that push are architects, preservationists and others who say the repair estimates have been overstated to steer the city toward abandoning a civic landmark and clearing the way for large-scale redevelopment that mostly benefits downtown business interests.
The council remains divided. On Wednesday, it balked at allocating $1.2 million in federal money for accessibility improvements at City Hall. The same six members who backed that proposal voted against the directive in March to pursue repair and relocation options.
Council member Paul Ridley said the majority’s rejection “further undermined public confidence” in preserving the building. Council member Maxie Johnson rejected that, calling the proposal a “patchwork” fix before the council has decided City Hall’s future.