Letter to the Mayor and City Councilmembers of Dallas: City Hall Repair vs. Demolition – Fiscal Reality and Funding Options
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Sent via email to Mayor Johnson and City Council members.
June 9, 2026
Mayor Eric Johnson
Dallas City Council
1500 Marilla
Dallas, TX 75201
RE: City Hall Repair vs. Demolition – Fiscal Reality and Funding Options
Dear Mayor Johnson and Members of the City Council,
On behalf of the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition, a diverse group of design professionals, business leaders,
and community advocates with expertise in building conditions, capital planning, and Dallas code, we
oppose the demolition narrative for Dallas City Hall. It is based on inflated costs, incomplete information, and
escalated assumptions about what repairs actually require.
The City’s June 3, 2026, presentation actually describes three different cost frames, which have been blurred
together in recent commentary.
1. Core repair baseline – $329.4M. AECOM’s Facility Condition Assessment identifies $329.4M in
corrective repair and infrastructure renewal for City Hall and the parking garage: HVAC, electrical,
plumbing, roof, envelope, life safety, and garage/plaza structural work, expressed in 2028 dollars.
This is a planning-level opinion of probable construction cost, developed from a visual
assessment and intended to inform capital planning, not to serve as a bid-ready price.
2. Phased repair scenarios – $531.6M to $610.8M. The Phase II options increase that baseline to
$531.6M–$610.8M by adding ADA and code upgrades in the areas being worked on and the extra cost
of keeping the building open and operating during construction. These are still repair plans, not
demolition and rebuild proposals, but they are built on early planning assumptions that should
be refined before any final decisions are made.
3. Move-out/rebuild frame – $906M to $1.14B. The $906M–$1.14B range cited publicly is not the cost
to repair City Hall. It layers in more than $100M for staff relocation, approximately $299M–$360M in
financing costs, and $277M in operating expenses during construction; soft costs associated with
vacating and rebuilding, not costs that are required to fix an occupied, functioning City Hall.
The City has also not presented a true side-by-side analysis of the cost of abandoning City Hall, particularly
the long-term cost of leasing or building replacement space and the effect on the City’s operating budget.
Proceeding without that information asks the public to accept a demolition or relocation path without a clear
understanding of the full fiscal consequences.
AECOM itself classifies the $329.4M corrective repair estimate as an AACE Class 4 / Class 5 planning-level
cost opinion, with a typical accuracy range of approximately minus 20%–30% to plus 30%–50%. It is based on
a non-invasive, system-level assessment, and AECOM notes that the estimate will be refined as concealed
conditions are investigated, design advances, and implementation strategy is defined. Given the
conservative scope assumptions and layered allowances built into this estimate, it should be treated
as a high-end planning number to be refined and value-engineered—not as a fixed cost that makes City
Hall “too expensive to save.”
Under Dallas’s adopted existing-building and fire codes, repairs and phased alterations do not automatically
require a complete code upgrade of the entire building. Broader upgrades are generally triggered when you
change occupancy or undertake large-scale renovations, not simply because you replace systems in phases.
Under phased work, only the areas under construction must meet current code, and a 50-year-old building
like City Hall can continue operating while systems are replaced in stages, consistent with how major
downtown buildings and public facilities across Dallas are routinely managed.
A fiscally responsible approach for an occupied civic building is a long-range capital plan, not a single
all-or-nothing project. Standard capital planning reviews condition assessments, prioritizes deficiencies,
and budgets annually for the highest-priority systems. For City Hall, a reasonable allocation is approximately
$15M–$20M per year, or $20M–$30M every two years, focused on core systems and critical repairs. This
approach avoids unnecessary full-building code upgrade costs and keeps City Hall open and serving the
public throughout the work.
The City also has near-term funding tools that can support significant work without new General Fund
impact. More than $23M in unspent ARPA funds was originally assigned to City Hall maintenance; these
dollars can be directed to immediate repairs before they expire. The staff parking garage was built with
Convention Center revenue bonds, and staff parking revenues have flowed to the Convention and Event
Services fund, which can support garage rehabilitation. Remaining 2017 City Hall bond funds can be
combined with these sources to deliver more than $30M in near-term repairs, using existing dedicated funds
rather than asking taxpayers for new money.
Dallas City Hall is one of the few major civic anchors on the south side of downtown. Moving or demolishing it
would pull daily trips, public workers, and public investment away from that area, directly undercutting the
City’s stated goals for equity, access, and southside revitalization. Fixing the existing building preserves civic
history, keeps services accessible to residents who rely on in-person government, and maintains a physical
anchor and public presence on the south side.
For these reasons, we urge the Council to:
• Reject the demolition narrative as economically and technically unsupported.
• Commit to a phased repair strategy, refined through detailed design rather than inflated by
unnecessary assumptions.
• Establish a consistent annual capital allocation of $15M–$20M and immediately deploy available
ARPA, Convention Center, and 2017 bond funds to launch at least $30M in near-term repairs.
We welcome further discussion with the Council, the City Manager, and the public.
Sincerely,
Bruce Richardson
President, Save Dallas City Hall Coalition
Zaida Basora, FAIA
Vice President, Save Dallas City Hall Coalition
c: Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, City Manager
Download the letter.
About Save Dallas City Hall Coalition:
The Save Dallas City Hall Coalition is a Texas nonprofit corporation committed to the preservation and restoration of the historic Dallas City Hall, an architectural landmark of national significance.
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