City leaders and staff have quietly toured more than 15 properties across Dallas in their search for a potential new home for City Hall, a wide-ranging process that took them from gleaming downtown towers to a southern Dallas shopping mall - and the list is only now coming to light.
The tours were offered to members of the city's Finance Committee by CBRE, the commercial real estate firm Dallas hired to manage the search for a possible future City Hall location. City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert confirmed the tours had taken place and said Finance Committee members did not meet together as a quorum and that no deliberations or decisions were made.
The list of potential sites - which was leaked to the Dallas Morning News - includes Red Bird Mall, a large warehouse in The Cedars, Cityplace, The Epic in Deep Ellum, Fair Park, Comerica Tower, Bryan Tower, Plaza of the Americas, and others, bringing the total to roughly 15 candidate properties. Founders Square in the West End was also among the sites visited, according to information provided to KRLD.
Red Bird Mall was specifically toured as a possible site for the city's 311 and 911 operations center. The inclusion of the long-struggling south Dallas mall underscored the breadth of the city's search - and its interest in potentially spreading operations across multiple locations rather than consolidating everything under one roof.
The 40-story Bryan Tower at 2001 Bryan Street has emerged as one of the more prominent options. Owner Pacific Elm Properties offered the entire 1.1 million-square-foot building to the city, positioning it as a less expensive alternative to the estimated cost of renovating the current City Hall. Because the building is vacant, major mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems could be replaced without disrupting tenants, the company said.
A recent assessment cited $329.4 million in 2028 dollars for work needed on the current City Hall building, though critics have questioned how that figure was calculated and what it actually covers.
The leaked list prompted criticism from some council members who said they were never invited on the tours. Finance Committee Chair Chad West pushed back, saying the invitation was open to all council members for some time and that some simply chose not to participate.
The search comes after the Dallas City Council voted 9-6 in early March to formally begin exploring relocation options, directing the city manager to study potential costs, evaluate buildings, and estimate what the city could recoup by redeveloping the current City Hall site at 1500 Marilla Street.
The current City Hall, a striking angular structure designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, was dedicated on March 12, 1978. No final decisions on relocation have been announced.
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