en.Wedoany.com Reported - On June 17, the Dallas City Council voted 9-5 (with one member absent) to allocate up to $3 million for the search for a new city hall. The vote authorized due diligence on relocation sites but did not commit the city to moving out of the Brutalist building designed by I.M. Pei.

The resolution authorizes City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to negotiate pre-acquisition agreements and study up to four potential sites for a new city hall and 911 call center. Tolbert is expected to bring these site options back to the City Council for consideration in August.

This vote followed a special meeting on June 10, where the City Council voted 9-6 against a plan to repair the existing building and directed staff to continue exploring other sites.

The June 10 meeting sparked a legal dispute. City Council members Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, and Cara Mendelsohn had previously obtained a court order blocking some relocation votes, arguing that the city had not provided the public with sufficiently clear notice. On June 16, Bazaldua and Blackmon filed a motion asking a judge to hold city officials in contempt of court, claiming that an alternative motion approved by the City Council on June 10 revived matters the court had prohibited. A related hearing is scheduled for June 18.

Estimated costs for repairing the existing building range from at least $329.4 million, as projected by AECOM, to approximately $1 billion for a comprehensive long-term overhaul.

Two amendments proposed by Mendelsohn regarding the selection of new building sites were both rejected by the same 9-5 vote. One amendment would have prohibited selecting a new city hall site in a building older than the current one, and the other would have required the new site to have adjacent public space.

AN has been tracking the condition of the building since last fall, when the City Council first discussed moving out. The City Council first voted to explore relocation in March, and in April, reports emerged that the original site could be cleared for a new Dallas Mavericks arena. This spring, a public call for ideas on the future of Dallas City Hall received over 400 submissions, including a proposal from a studio at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Following the vote, Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson issued a statement saying: "I am confident that the City Council will once again make the right decision for our taxpayers by selecting a municipal headquarters that serves employees efficiently and serves residents with the high standard they deserve." He added: "Beyond being the most fiscally responsible decision, relocation also offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine 1501 Marilla Street as a site that unlocks new economic potential for downtown Dallas."

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