After a bruising week for downtown Dallas, Mayor Eric Johnson says the city cannot afford to cling to a half-century-old City Hall as he stepped up his push to free the site for redevelopment.
Johnson, in his Sunday newsletter, said Dallas must be willing to remake itself and compete more aggressively with neighboring cities for investment, jobs and attractions.
He described the current City Hall site as a “dead zone” and said moving government operations and redeveloping the 12-acre property could create new housing, attractions and economic activity in the city’s core.
“Downtown Dallas must evolve,” Johnson wrote.
That criticism has intensified after Neiman Marcus’ decision to close its flagship store, the Mavericks’ pursuit of a new arena district in North Dallas and the Stars’ selection of Plano as the leading contender for a future arena and entertainment district.
“Plano is looking out for Plano. Frisco is looking out for Frisco,” he wrote. “It’s up to Dallas to step up to the challenge and look out for Dallas.”
Johnson compared the current debate to the 1960s effort to build a new City Hall under former Mayor J. Erik Jonsson, saying Dallas again faces a choice between preserving the past and investing in its future.
On Wednesday, City Council members are expected to vote on measures that could advance City Hall relocation plans, authorize negotiations for new office space and allow the city to pursue redevelopment of the downtown property.
Johnson took aim at the politics surrounding the issue, calling on council members to end their “infighting and shenanigans” and warning against delays and “procedural distractions.”
“The City Council must decide whether they want big things to happen in Dallas or somewhere else,” Johnson wrote.