Good evening:
If I were to draft a “know before you go” note for members of the public visiting the I.M. Pei-designed Dallas City Hall, it would go something like this:
Plan to park in one of the metered spots or pay lots to the south of the building.
There are no publicly accessible entrances on the south side of the building, so you will then walk completely around to enter through the glass security vestibule on the northwest corner of the building, facing the reflecting pool and little-used plaza.
Once you clear the metal detectors, you will be on to the really fun part of determining whether to take the blue, red, or green elevators to access the office you are visiting. It is best to get specific guidance in advance because if you pick the wrong elevators, you may end up having to trek back down to the lobby to start over. Security restrictions in most upper floors bar the public from cutting across offices.
If the weather outside is hot, bring a sweater, pants, and extra warm socks to wear inside. If the weather outside is cold, wear layers so you can strip down once inside. If it is raining outside, be prepared for likely showers inside too.
If you are planning to visit Council Chambers on the sixth floor, please note you are barred from eating or drinking anything, including water, inside the chambers — even if the slow pace of the meeting requires you to be there for 10 hours or more.
Like 99% of government buildings, Dallas City Hall — the people’s house — usually does not feel very inviting to the people. Now, three years shy of its 50th birthday, the building’s future is reportedly up for debate at City Council.
The Dallas Morning News reports on today’s front page that costs to repair the “brutalist” structure could top $100 million, a price tag that will inform “a debate about whether Dallas’ most recognizable government building is even worth saving.”
The newly formed Finance Committee, led by Council Member Chad West, is expected to kick off the discussion on Oct. 21.
The implications for Downtown’s future are huge, with The News story noting speculation that the site could be a prime spot for a new arena and entertainment district — should a local NBA team perhaps be in the market for such a thing.
Committee members won’t have to look far for potential relocation inspiration.
Nearly a decade ago, Dallas Independent School District sold its primary administration building on Ross Avenue and consolidated operations in a North Dallas office building (I am by no means suggesting City Hall should be located anywhere outside of Downtown). More recently, Fort Worth turned the former Pier One Imports headquarters into a new state-of-the-art City Hall.
Many in this town will take great offense to the suggestion that Dallas might tear down a work of Pei, whose portfolio includes the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, as well as our city’s One Dallas Center, Energy Plaza, Fountain Place, and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Dallas Morning News Architecture Critic Mark Lamster in 2022 acknowledged the building may be the most hated in Dallas. But he made a case that it is also “forthright, brash, inventive, optimistic, futuristic and downright beautiful.”
Decisions as consequential as this should not be made in a vacuum.
As Lamster noted about the current City Hall, it was one of the most consequential mayors in Dallas history, Erik Jonsson, “who virtually willed it into being.” That was one of a broad series of initiatives and projects Jonsson led to transform our city on the world stage in the years following the Kennedy assassination.
Which points to an even bigger question: who will step up with a coherent vision for the future of Dallas? Not just on this issue, but on a host of important matters, including public safety, Fair Park, economic competitiveness, regional transportation, and the future of the two major professional sports franchises that call Dallas home.
A note to readers: Meetings of Interest is an independent newsletter curated and authored by Scott Goldstein and sponsored by Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI). The content, perspectives, or commentary presented herein reflect the views of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of DDI or any other organization, institution, or individual, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Any affiliations are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement.
📖 Table of Contents
📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest
A $409 million redevelopment plan for Downtown’s Bank of America Plaza won key support from members of two City boards. Members of the Downtown Connection Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District and Downtown Dallas Development Authority (DDDA) signed off on up to $98 million in incentives, plus another $5 million to accommodate potential future changes to a planned parking garage, The Dallas Morning News reports. The Downtown Dallas, Inc.-backed redo is being led by developers Mike Ablon and Mike Hoque, with another briefing set for tomorrow’s City Council Economic Development Committee. More on that below.
Dallas City Council members voted against appointing the wife of a City Hall adversary to the Ethics Advisory Commission. Freshman Council Member Bill Roth nominated corporate attorney Natalie LeVeck, whose husband leads the Dallas HERO organization, to a body that reviews and makes findings on ethics complaints, including those against City Council members. Dallas HERO was the driving force behind two voter-approved Charter amendments, including one that makes it easier to sue City Hall. The rare vote to deny a commission appointment was 9-6 against LeVeck, the Dallas Observer reports.
City Council members and staff are continuing to thread the needle of adhering to President Trump’s directives against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs without turning back on years of work to combat poverty and other challenges, KERA reports. Read the briefing update, “Federal Compliance & Next Steps,” presented last week.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board members approved a $1.8 billion fiscal 2026 budget and 20-year financial plan. Read more.
Presented by Downtown Dallas, Inc.
In Downtown Dallas, crime and quality of life infractions are down, enforcement is up, homeless encampments are closed, and our response system is stronger than ever. Safe in the City is a movement that is delivering results… Right Here. Right Now. Learn more at safedowntowndallas.com.
📝 Memos of Interest
Dallas City Council members are expected to vote in December to change how they plan to spend federal grant dollars for affordable housing, homelessness services, economic development, and infrastructure, according to this memo. The changes are due in part to policy shifts to adhere to President Trump’s executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is placing a “temporary pause” on controversial plans to transition about 26,000 households from alley to curb trash and recycling pickup, according to this public notice. City staff will now “fully evaluate additional options for continuing alley service where residents strongly prefer it, while addressing the City’s ongoing safety and efficiency concerns,” according to the announcement.
Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, October 3, 2025.
🔢 Number of Interest
$409M
The estimated cost of a proposed redevelopment and renovation of Downtown’s 72-story Bank of America tower and surrounding blocks.
🤝 Meetings of Interest: October 6 - 10, 2025
Monday, October 6
Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Parks officials will demo a new “Dallas Safe Parks Dashboard” that includes data on the work of park rangers and Dallas marshals who patrol city parks. Read more.
Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
The 901 Main Street redevelopment project includes plans for luxury hotel rooms, a new ballroom and parking garage, and an elevated pedestrian walkway across Main Street.
Committee members will weigh in on the previously noted $98 million incentive package toward a planned $409 million redo of Bank of America Plaza and surrounding Downtown blocks. City Council members are expected to vote on the proposal on Oct. 22.
Tuesday, October 7
Special Called Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Pallet shelters and tiny homes are up for discussion as potential routes for people experiencing homelessness in Dallas.
Wednesday, October 8
Dallas City Council Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Item 6 will authorize an Oct. 22 public hearing on a key element of a proposed funding plan for the previously noted Bank of America Plaza redevelopment project. For the project to receive public funding, City Council must approve an expansion of the Downtown Connection Sub-District of the Downtown Connection TIF District.
Item 12 puts bond dollars to work with a $1 million professional services contract tied to a planned redo of the 60-year-old Preston Royal Branch Library. The contract with LPA, Inc. is for architectural, design, engineering, bid advertisement, construction administration and warranty support services for the project. Construction is expected to start in November 2026 and be completed by January 2028. Read more.
Item 13 is another bond project that authorizes a $390,000 design-build construction contract with Phoenix I Restoration and Construction, LLC, for services tied to Meyerson Symphony Center partial roof replacement and water infiltration mitigation. Design is expected to begin next month, with construction completed in December 2026. Read more.
Item 28 is an ordinance to increase thresholds for when a City contract must be competitively bid from $50,000 to $100,000, as allowed by a new state law. It would also increase the threshold for the city manager to sign off on expenditures and contracts without City Council approval from $100,000 to $300,000 for goods, general, professional, personal, and other services, and $500,000 for architecture, engineering and construction services. The aim is to increase efficiency, save money, and make it easier to do business with City Hall. Read more on this in last week’s briefing to City Council, as well as these answers to key questions asked during the briefing. Nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) partnered with the City to analyze the procurement process and advise on process improvements.
Item 29 is closed-door deliberations on the potential sale of a former hospital at 2929 South Hampton that the City purchased with bond funds in 2022 intending to develop permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless people. That plan was scrapped amid community opposition and the City engaged CBRE to produce this Market Study Report on the property.
Item 30 is closed-door deliberations on the potential sale of the once-planned permitting headquarters. The City-owned building couldn’t get proper permits because it was “jacked up beyond repair,” as Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky reminds us in a recent piece about a fresh CBRE listing of the property. City officials are likely hoping potential buyers read only the listing and not Wilonsky’s column — or any other news stories about the building. That would be about the same due diligence the City did before purchasing the building in 2022 for more than $14 million and then spending another $15 million in a failed attempt to fix it up.
Thursday, October 9
City Plan Commission, 9 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Dallas Park & Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Park Board members will be briefed on Fair Park operations and a revitalization strategy, following the recent dismissal of a failed public-private management team. The Dallas Morning News editorial board today writes of seven pillars for a path forward at Fair Park. I serve on the Park Board as the District 10 (Lake Highlands) representative.
Regional Transportation Council (RTC), 1 p.m., Transportation Council Room, North Central Texas Council of Governments, 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011
FIFA World Cup 2026 regional transportation planning is on the agenda. An updated transportation plan is due by end of this month. Read more.
This meeting also will include discussion and possible action on RTC’s federal legislative priorities, including stable long-term funding, increased revenue sources, safety through technology, and support for high-speed rail.
🗣️ Quote of Interest
We plan to look hard at City Hall’s viability for the future and the maintenance required with us staying in City Hall.
Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.
Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Publisher
Meetings of Interest
