The most sweeping evaluation of Dallas City Hall in its 48-year history is nearing the finish line, with the review’s leader saying findings could be released publicly as early as Feb. 20.
Linda McMahon, CEO of the Dallas Economic Development Corp., said at the group’s quarterly meeting Tuesday that neither the city manager, city staff nor City Council members have yet received copies of the thousands of pages generated by the review.
The council turned to the city-affiliated nonprofit late last year to explore alternatives for City Hall and sought an independent review of the building’s condition and options.
McMahon said the assessment has involved more than 68 engineers, city staff and other specialists from eight different companies. The process included reviewing “every inch” of the building, all repair logs, and original construction plans from the 1970s.
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Verbal briefings on the findings to some City Council members will begin next week ahead of the public report, which is expected to be released before the findings are presented to the council’s finance committee on Feb. 23.
“No one at City Hall has any information, I can tell you that,” McMahon said. “It is locked down because it’s very, very important that we make sure that we have everything together and we’ve gone through all the data to make sure we’re providing everything that’s been requested.”
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The City Hall evaluation is at the center of a clash among city leaders, preservationists, developers and residents, who are divided over whether to preserve the I.M. Pei-designed building or abandon it and redevelop the prime downtown site.
The assessment began in December, with reports of findings submitted the following month — including one engineer’s report alone totaling 865 pages, according to McMahon.
As of Tuesday, McMahon said the team was still reviewing all the reports.
She said the information going to the council later this month will not include a recommendation.
“We’re only providing information so the council can make an informed decision,” she said.
The council has not made a decision on whether to preserve, sell or demolish Dallas City Hall.
She said the final report would likely be more exhaustive than the city staff briefings on the building’s condition in November, which estimated repair costs as high as $345 million after years of neglected maintenance.
“You’ll find the results to be extremely compelling and complete,” McMahon said, adding that information from several prominent Dallas architects advocating for the building’s preservation is also under review.
The city will reimburse the corporation up to $280,000 for consultant fees, and an additional $20,000 for administrative expenses.
The corporation planned to work with several groups, including infrastructure consulting firm AECOM to update its eight-year-old assessment of City Hall.
They also planned to partner with design firm Corgan and Downtown Dallas Inc. to determine the city’s office space needs and compare the costs of repairing City Hall versus leasing, buying or building a new facility.
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