Stakeholder and community participation meetings began in mid-February. The program will be completed in April 2000. Selection of a Design Team for the new City Hall is underway, and Council is expected to select a team in March 2000. Beginning in January, the City Council moved its regular meetings to alternate sites, and all City employees working in the Municipal Annex will be relocated by the end of February. Asbestos removal and demolition of the Annex will begin in March.
Community participation is vital to a successful programming and strategic planning process.
With the new City Hall being part of a larger private development, it will be important for the design team to create a new City Hall which is distinct from the surrounding CSC developments. Further, due to the plaza s location at Town Lake, consideration needs to be given to connecting the plaza with nearby pedestrian walkways and bikeways. The new City Hall will be approximately 100,000 sf, and overlook both Town Lake and a revitalized, retail oriented Second Street. A Public Plaza will be constructed on the south side of the lot, facing Town Lake. Three levels of underground parking are included in the development, with one level dedicated to daytime CSC parking upon completion of the third of three office buildings, as well as parking for the retail space included in the project.