I do not understand why people are so angry about the design of the new City Hall.
Fort Lauderdale is not a small town anymore. We’re growing, changing and attracting new residents every year. If every government building looked the same — gray and boring — what does that say about us?
This design is modern and forward-looking, which is exactly how the city should be thinking. People complained when the Riverwalk was updated, and it now is one of the best things about downtown. Not every new idea is bad just because it’s different.
Paul Hernandez, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
City of Fort Lauderdale
An architect’s early sketch of what the new Fort Lauderdale City Hall might look like.
Despite an inspiration that appears to have come from a cocktail napkin sketch, the new City Hall looks like the profile of a giant paper clip. That surely is befitting the new home of Fort Lauderdale’s burgeoning bureaucracy.
Raymond Thomasson, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
A government building should be functional, resilient and sturdy, and it should not break the budget.
The city should have listed its specifications, and contractors should have bid competitively. Instead, contractors are running the show, telling the city how much taxpayer money they want, and a majority of commissioners seems willing to hand it over.
Special to the Sun Sentinel
Michael O’Brien is a longtime Fort Lauderdale resident, retired federal law enforcement officer and member of the city Homeless Advisory Board.
All this while infrastructure continues to fail.
Broken sewer lines pour waste into our waterways and estimates are that Fortify Lauderdale, the citywide resiliency program, is 10 to 15 years from completion.
Does Fort Lauderdale need a city hall? Of course we do. Do we need a 15-story glass tower with a separate commission chamber at over $300 million? Apparently many think not — and I would agree.
The public should have been given more time to review and comment on this extremely hot topic.
I’d like to see commissioners address flooding and infrastructure with the same fervor they have for dumping taxpayer money into projects like a new City Hall, the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and re-landscaping Las Olas Boulevard.
Yes, we need a city hall. We don’t need a $340 million-plus Taj Mahal.
Michael O’Brien, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
I like the new design. Downtown Fort Lauderdale looks like a cluster of tall, boring cubes. Nothing is exciting.
Bruce Bolton, Wilton Manors
* * *
Taxpayers deserve more transparency.
How much would a plain, rectangular building cost versus this artistic proposal? And what’s the deal with these public-private arrangements? Will we pay to build it, then rent it back, too?
We should have learned from the Las Olas parking garage that art costs money and can lead to problems. Some of us prefer just good function and lower taxes.
Herb Taylor, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
Even if you agree that the city should spend the money to build something iconic, this is not it.
The building is slightly interesting from one angle and is a big glass whatever from other angles. It says a lot that this design impressed the city commissioners.
Barry Solomon, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
The new abomination of a City Hall will blend right into the mess into which my beautiful old Fort Lauderdale has been so transformed.
Jim Guarino, Sunrise
* * *
The City Hall needs to be of hurricane-proof design that will remain functional after a direct hit to allow directing recovery.
I predict that this radical design will be a typical government boondoggle, with huge cost overruns, a delayed completion date, high maintenance costs, a short lifetime and inefficient use of space. I see hundreds of places where it could leak.
Imagine having to look at this bread basket, perched on one end, for decades. I’m already tired of it.
Karl Magleby, Weston
* * *
Fort Lauderdale is moving full steam ahead with a $350 million City Hall, a staggering sum for a city with fewer than 3,000 employees.
Courtesy John Rodstrom III
John Rodstrom III is a lawyer and city activist.
Meanwhile, the Broward County School District, with more than 28,000 employees, is preparing to sell its downtown headquarters, long known as the “Crystal Palace.”
The irony is hard to ignore. The School Board building is functional, has a large commission chambers, and serves an organization 10 times the city’s size.
Fort Lauderdale could have bought or leased that space for a fraction of the cost of a new building. Instead city leaders are building a monument to excess, a vanity project shaped like a sinking ship.
If the city were a private company, each city employee would need to generate more than $116,000 in revenue to cover the cost of the new building. That math only makes sense for a Fortune 500 headquarters — not municipal offices.
Residents didn’t ask for a showpiece. They asked for competence, humility and a government that knows how to spend public tax dollars wisely.
John E. Rodstrom III, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
I don’t think the image of a boat sinking is a positive one.
Dick Kendall, Coral Springs
* * *
The 1960s-era former Fort Lauderdale City Hall was boxy, lacked windows and was too small for such a growing city. A City Hall should be functional, energy-efficient and serve the needs of the staff and residents.
The chosen design has been described as “a sexy landmark, curvy and futuristic” at a whopping cost of over $344 million for a tall tower, a six-level open-air parking garage for 1,000 vehicles, and separate city commission chambers.
The city is not building a tourist attraction or office complex. It’s building a place where city government is transacted and public meetings are held.
Surely we can do better than $344 million. The chosen design looks expensive to air condition efficiently, maintain, insure and protect against hurricanes.
Let’s pause and see what happens in Tallahassee regarding property tax proposals, and whether the city faces a significant reduction in the $251 million it expects this year in property tax revenue.
Howard A. Tescher, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
I hate it. Where is the fiduciary responsibility in spending so much money on a government building?
It’s out of control. Very poor judgment.
Max Lewis, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
Good for Commissioner John Herbst for voting no. The proposal is laughable given the cost and the design. What an outrageous proposal.
And I agree — it should be in Dubai.
Nancy Bryant, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
It’s ugly. It’s too big. A bird-killer. It has nothing to do with the city vibe. Please don’t build this monstrosity.
I have been a resident of the city since 1955.
Cathy Gross, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
To start with, we don’t have the money for this project, and taxpayers can’t afford any more assessments.
Why such a huge building? The city owns tons of property. Let’s renovate what we have.
The proposed design is also going to hurt birds.
Christine Demarco, Fort Lauderdale
* * *
As a retired architect from Illinois living in the Fort Lauderdale area, I need to comment on how Fort Lauderdale chose the design of its city hall (Futuristic design for new City Hall a winner for Fort Lauderdale, by Susannah Bryan, Dec. 4, 2025).
Letting the developer come up with the design is the wrong way to go, in my opinion.
Instead of just four options from development teams, one of which was chosen, the best way is a competition among top architects in the country or world, as well as any architectural firm that wants to submit one.
The Chicago Tribune did this for what long ago became a landmark building on Michigan Avenue. The result was an award-winning design of Tribune Tower that remains an icon. Once the city has chosen a design and its architect, then it should seek competitive bids.
Emil Sorensen, Lighthouse Point
Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.