As leaders look to determine what layout of a new City Hall would best serve residents doing business with the city and provide space for community events, they are planning to host two community meetings and provide online methods to garner residents’ opinions.
“This building is so important, and this [process] is so important,” said Arefin Shamsul, at-large Place 6 City Council member, at a June 5 work session. “Hopefully, this will stay there for hundreds of years. It might need maintenance, but this will be our historical building.”
What you need to know
During open house meetings scheduled for June 27 and July 8, residents will be able to gather information on the new City Hall while providing feedback on its conceptual design. The June meeting will be held at the Heights Recreation Center from 6:30-8:30 p.m., while the July meeting will be held at the Huffhines Recreation Center from 10 a.m.-noon.
In addition, city officials plan to gather input via an online survey that will open later this month with a kiosk located at the first floor of the Richardson Public Library available for survey use.
At the in-person meetings, attendees will also be able to learn more and provide feedback on the city’s update to its Envision Richardson Comprehensive Plan, which seeks to guide future decisions on things such as infrastructure, transportation, zoning and development regulations.
“I feel like we have learned a lot over the past two years about the difference between input and engagement. We were doing a good job of taking input before, but we weren't engaging in these open houses that provided that forum,” City Manager Don Magner said at the meeting. “We won't sacrifice in any regard the input or the engagement for time, but I feel like we can do them both concurrently so [City Council will] have less of those difficult decisions at the end because of cost considerations.”
What’s next?
At the June 5 meeting, Richardson Engineering Director Jim Dulac said officials will compile resident feedback about the new City Hall and present a plan for the building to City Council in August. From there, the plan will again be presented to residents for more feedback in September with the goal of beginning construction in November 2024.
“Time is of the essence because ... the construction cost escalations that are out there these days, every month is hundreds of thousands of dollars more that we'll be paying,” Magner said. “So while [the timeline is] aggressive, it hits that right balance of making sure that the public is engaged in the process and we really hear from the community about what they want to see in their City Hall.”
The backstory
The need for a new City Hall follows an August fire that caused structural and infrastructure damage to the building, forcing officials to relocate services to other facilities around the city. The $46 million bond, which Magner said will not affect tax rates, will help cover a portion of the costs for the new facility. Other funding is expected to come from more than $22 million in 2021 bond program funding and an insurance settlement that is expected to be at least $16.5 million, putting the project's total cost at nearly $85 million.
While design and construction work is underway for the new City Hall, which is expected to be completed in fall 2026, nearly all city departments and the library will move to a temporary space at 2360 Campbell Creek Blvd.
“We're very thrilled to have this opportunity to work in these spaces as a result of where we are now being so fractured and scattered,” Dulac said at the meeting. “We're all looking forward to that, and we can't get in there fast enough.”
