Dallas mayor wants to relocate City Hall, citing costs; says Mavs, Stars' relocation plans not final
For the first time, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says he wants the city to move out of City Hall.
He said the latest cost estimates released this week for the major repairs to this 47-year-old building range from more than $531 million to nearly $611 million over 6 to 10 years — just too expensive for taxpayers.
Johnson supports selling Dallas City Hall site for redevelopment
Johnson said the land could be sold to a private developer for something new.
"The numbers have now been proven multiple times to be accurate, and it would be very costly to stay, and so I would be in favor, for sure, of us saving the taxpayers considerable money by leaving this obsolete building," said Johnson. "That would make this location available for development, which I would also support. I believe that will be a very, very big part of the future of downtown and its revitalization. That's a very key element to the revitalization. So, in case people are trying to keep track: Yes, to moving out of this building and into another building and yes, to redeveloping this site."
Johnson said relocating to another downtown building would cost much less.
"There are alternatives in the market, in the central business district, and around the central business district where we could actually locate City Hall, and it would cost us less money than repairing this place," he said. "In other words, we could actually save the taxpayers of Dallas significant money by actually moving out of this building."
He said he doesn't know if there are eight voices around the council horseshoe to make it happen, but he hopes this week's headlines will have an impact on the council.
"I am confident we have voices around here now who appreciate what's at stake here for downtown," the mayor said.
Dallas Stars' relocation plans not final, Johnson says
The mayor also insists that neither decision by the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars to move out of downtown is a done deal.
"The Valley View site that the Mavericks are looking at, it's in Dallas, that's a good thing," Johnson said. "Let's start with that. But as far as the Stars are concerned, that negotiations from my understanding, it is a letter of intent. It is not a final deal. It's a step, but not a final step."
Johnson said that City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert continues negotiating and is trying to keep the Stars at the American Airlines Center past 2031, when its lease expires.
Dallas doesn't have much time, because on Monday, the Plano City Council will vote on an agreement for the Stars to build a new arena at the Willow Bend Mall site.
"The City Manager and I have talked extensively about this," said Johnson. "She is still in regular daily contact, basically, with both teams about options. Respective to the Stars in particular, to stay at the American Airlines Center, that is still a goal of mine for them to continue to be at the American Airlines Center ... These are business decisions and they're going to be made for business reasons."
The mayor said it's no longer just about the teams paying rent and getting a share of concessions and parking at venues like the American Airlines Center. Both teams want to have hotels, restaurants and retail around their new arenas.
Josnon said this issue has been on his radar for years now.
"Was there no way to try to put out an all-points bulletin for developers in the city of Dallas, downtown, whatever, to come up get all your developers and come up with something - having a summit of sorts to try to find space for both teams?" Johnson said. "There's only so much space in what we consider the urban core, right in downtown, to do something like that. Downtown Dallas is pretty built out. And that's another dynamic of this. That is just that reality again. So, another theme here would be having to deal with the business realities of the city of Dallas. It's an older and more mature city from a construction standpoint, a lot more built out and what you have in the suburbs, in a lot of places, is really a blank canvas to work from."
Neiman Marcus
When it comes to Neiman Marcus' decision to close its downtown store for good after being in downtown for 118 years, the mayor said it was beyond the city's control.
"Their Dallas store downtown was not making money and it hadn't made money for a while, and they made the decision, coming out of their bankruptcy to close it,," said Johnson. "So again, that story impacts downtown, but it's not really a downtown story. It's a retail math story."
The mayor says he wants the city to create a new entertainment district downtown and connect the new convention center, farmers market, arts district and Klyde Warren Park.
