An exterior view of Dallas City Hall at sunset in downtown Dallas in November.
Tom Fox/Dallas Morning News
Dallas City Council members recently logged a few more hours in the marathon debate over City Hall’s future, but, from where we sat, we are no closer to answering the question of whether to stay at 1500 Marilla or leave it behind.
On Wednesday, a slate of consultants outlined elements of a possible 10-year plan to repair I.M. Pei’s love-it-or-hate-it concrete monument to municipal government.
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The presentation came after engineering company AECOM and other consultants told council members it would cost about $329 million for needed repairs and more than $1 billion over 20 years to fully modernize the building.
Council members have been bickering for weeks about whose cost estimate is best and quibbling over electrical systems, generators, plumbing and the like. The tenor of Wednesday’s discussion was more amicable than usual, and that’s great, but it still failed to address key facets of this issue.
Don’t get us wrong, the cost of repairing and modernizing City Hall is important. But no matter how much more we learn about it, there’s still missing information council members must have before making a decision on whether to stay or go.
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It remains unclear, for example, what it would cost to demolish the building, or who would foot the bill for that.
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There’s also no clear idea about where the city might move operations if it abandons City Hall. Will the city move into an office tower? Build something new? Remake Founders Square, as developer Ray Washburne has proposed? Who knows.
And maybe most importantly, there is no clear vision for what kind of development would actually happen on the site if the building comes crashing down.
We haven’t heard from the Dallas Mavericks about what could be if we abandon City Hall. That seems awfully important to deciding the question. Dallas is a business city, and a serious business doesn’t take a blind deal.
When the city solicited ideas about what to do with City Hall, the Mavericks didn’t submit a formal concept. Mavericks Chief Venue Officer Theo Hodges did, however, submit a half-page letter that doesn’t say much of anything.
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“Because those discussions have not reached the level of detail required to support a responsible and credible submission, it is premature to submit a draft concept at this time,” it reads.
In other words, give us the keys and trust us. That’s not how business works.
The council can’t make an informed decision until the Mavericks offer some real idea of what Dallas would get in return. We strongly believe that downtown Dallas needs an opportunity for growth and change. And we want the Dallas Mavericks to be in downtown Dallas. The team is part of the heart of this city.
But it isn’t fair to ask Dallas for its civic center without telling us what the team has in mind.
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Once we know, a decision will be that much easier to make.
Have thoughts about this? Send a letter to the editor using our letters form or email letters@dallasnews.com. Letters should be no more than 200 words and include the first and last name of the writer and city of residence.