Dallas City Hall Showdown Pits Preservation Against Arena

2 February 2026

A long-simmering debate over what to do with Dallas City Hall now includes a proposal from Ray Washburne to move local government operations into one of his downtown buildings.

At issue is the aging seven-story, 1 million-square-foot Brutalist building at 1500 Marilla Street and whether the city should spend nine figures to overhaul it or decamp to a new home, potentially unlocking one of the largest redevelopment sites in the urban core. A City Hall move could clear the way for a mixed-use redevelopment tied to a new Dallas Mavericks arena, while keeping the building would mean doubling down on preservation and reinvestment, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

The latest volley came via the Dallas Morning News editorial section, which launched a series dubbed “Saving Downtown.” The opening installment featured dueling op-eds from Ray Washburne, vice chairman of Gillon Property Group and a heavy investor in downtown properties, as well as a trio of prominent architects arguing for City Hall’s preservation.

Washburne framed his proposal as a reset moment for downtown. He argued the city is at a “crossroads” and should rethink how to maximize what he called “the largest property tax base for a primary residential city.” In his telling, a roughly $2 billion Mavericks arena and entertainment district on the City Hall site would generate far more tax revenue than a government-owned building that pays none, while catalyzing a broader development wave.

Washburne said the arena project, paired with other initiatives like the overhaul of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, could spark as much as $10 billion in downtown investment. As part of that vision, he suggested relocating City Hall a few blocks away to Founders Square, a circa-1915 building at 1000 Jackson Street that he owns.

The counterargument, laid out by GFF co-founder Duncan Fulton, Omniplan principal emeritus Tipton Housewright and AIA Dallas executive director Zaida Basora, focused heavily on both dollars and civic identity. While acknowledging City Hall’s “real problems,” the architects said they could be addressed “easily and affordably” through redesigned entrances, modernized interiors and better wayfinding.

They also pitched a radical redesign of the windswept plaza outside City Hall, recasting it as a pocket park with trees, water and space for performances. The building’s central location, they argued, is an asset, not a liability. An expanded City Hall campus could even house a long-sought one-stop permitting center for developers, turning the complex into a daily engine of downtown activity.

— Eric Weilbacher