Cowtown City Hall Considers Going Postal

By BRETT JOHNSON May 19, 2009

The Fort Worth City Council has approved money for a study on moving City Hall into the city's historic downtown Post Office building.

The city is considering renovating the state landmark into a new City Hall.

"And we should do that, because its a centrally located facility, it's at the heart of the Lancaster corridor development (and) it has great access to current and future mass transit," said Randall Harwood, director of the city programs office.

The City Council approved $200,000 for a study to determine if the project would be economically feasible.

The question is: Do the numbers work?

The city would be on a 20 to 30-year lease purchase agreement at up to $6.4 million a year.

"And if they (the numbers) don't work, then as excited as I am about this project, as excited as this council is, I will be the first one willing to say, 'Let's pull the plug,'" Mayor Mike Moncrief said.

In a soft real estate market, are tax dollars better spent on existing structures?

The city of Southlake is considering buying the soon-to-be vacated Gateway Church for a multipurpose facility.

"There's a whole lot of variables that may make buying an existing structure much more beneficial for the taxpayer," Southlake Mayor Andy Wambsganss said.

Full Story