City Hall should be repaired, not razed, respondents say in feedback to Dallas officials

Public feedback on the future of Dallas City Hall shows strong support for preserving and repairing the 50‑year‑old I.M. Pei‑designed building rather than tearing it down, according to hundreds of submissions collected by the city. 

Most respondents describe the structure as a civic landmark and say demolition would be both wasteful and culturally damaging.

City officials are reviewing the comments as part of a broader assessment of City Hall's long‑term needs, including repair estimates, redevelopment possibilities, and ideas for reimagining the surrounding plaza. The feedback will be folded into a report to the Dallas City Council as it considers whether to pursue restoration, adaptive reuse, or full redevelopment of the site.

In all, 406 people selected a category, with 321 favoring repairing and restoring the existing building and 85 supporting demolition and redevelopment, according to the city's online summary.

Here are the results. 

People surveyed who wanted to keep City Hall said it's an important landmark and didn't trust the billion‑dollar repair estimate. They didn't want an arena or private development on the site and mainly wanted the plaza improved with shade, trees, seating, and more activity. Many also liked keeping the building while adding new development around it.

The group of people surveyed who wanted demolition was smaller. They thought the building wasn't working well anymore and believed downtown needed something big and new, like an arena, an entertainment district, or a mixed‑use project, to bring more life to the area.

City officials said the public‑input effort was launched to gather early ideas on how City Hall and the surrounding city‑owned acreage could be reused or redeveloped. The city invited residents, architects, planners, developers, and community groups to submit concepts for both the existing building and the land that will become available once the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is demolished and rebuilt. 

Officials said the feedback was intended to broaden the range of options presented to the City Council as it considers the site's future.