Fort Worth Planning a New City Hall

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price announced a plan last week to move City Hall to a location formerly occupied by the headquarters of Pier 1. The new location is on the western edge of the city's downtown.

"Mayor Betsy Price said it will save tens of millions over building a new complex, where cost estimates were running above $200 million," according to an article by CBS DFW.

The city's current facility was constructed in 1971—since then the city has been growing quickly both in terms of size and population. To build a City Hall commensurate with the city's new size and stature, the initial plan had been to build a new City Hall next to the existing structure.

According to the article, the purchase of the former Pier 1 site might prove to be more of a strategic opportunity, resulting in "cost-savings for taxpayers through an accelerated timeline, a much lower acquisition cost, reduction of long-term operating expenses and elimination of annual payments for leased facilities."

"City Hall is the daily workplace for approximately 600 City staff from 13 departments. The current City Hall will be repurposed and remain as a municipal building," according to the article.