I.M. Pei's children urge Dallas to preserve City Hall ahead of relocation vote

Dallas City Council could move a step closer Wednesday to relocating City Hall, a decision that is drawing an emotional response from the children of the building's architect.

Sandi and Liane Pei, the surviving children of renowned architect I.M. Pei, are urging city leaders to preserve Dallas City Hall, which they describe as one of their father's most significant works and the only government building he designed.

Sandi Pei said the building represents a major architectural achievement.

"I think to lose such a building of such enormous architectural significance would be an enormous loss to the city of Dallas and to the nation," he said.

He added that his father devoted nearly a decade to the project, which he described as one of the most important of his career.

"He invested a great deal of time, took almost a decade to build, to design and to build, and so it is one of the most important projects in his career," Sandi Pei said.

The Pei family has said the design was shaped by the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. Liane Pei described the building as her father's effort to help the city recover and move forward.

"He took this commission with so much heart because of the assassination," she said. "He wanted to make an impact, to show Dallas that it had a bright future ahead of it, and to move forward."

On Wednesday, the council is scheduled to vote on whether to begin negotiating and planning potential relocation sites for City Hall. The measure would not determine the building's future, but it would advance discussions away from repair options.

The city has estimated that repairs could exceed $500 million. Last week, council members voted 9-6 against advancing a repair plan.

Mayor Eric Johnson, in a memo this week, wrote that "relocation will be a far more cost-effective use of taxpayer dollars" and described City Hall as "a dilapidated government office building."

The Pei family disagrees with that characterization.

"City Hall is not just a building. It is really a symbol of its government," Sandi Pei said.

Liane Pei criticized the idea of dismissing the building's significance.

"The dismissal of it is out of hand --- treating it like it's just a parking lot space that can be torn up is really quite disgraceful," she said.

The dispute comes as legal challenges related to City Hall escalate. Two lawsuits filed Tuesday accuse the city of limiting public comment and violating a judge's temporary restraining order during a recent council meeting.

The Pei family said the building is the only major work of I.M. Pei now facing possible demolition, and urged city leaders to consider its historical and architectural value before moving forward with relocation plans.

"Our father is not here anymore, and I know that this would be devastating — absolutely devastating to him," Liane Pei said. "This would be just such a disappointment for him."

The council meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday.