Cowtown City Hall Considers Going Postal
By BRETT JOHNSON
Updated 9:05 PM CST, Tue, 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.
The majesty and grandeur of the old downtown Post Office certainly touches the hearts of Fort Worth residents.
"I believe that's gold leaf or gold guild or something up there, but it's just beautiful," Earl Collins said as he stared at the ornate ceiling.
The building is considered one of the best examples of Beaux Arts/Classical Revival in town, and people are enthusiastic about the city's interest in developing it into a new City Hall.
"And I'd rather see it go to the City of Fort Worth for offices rather than to be destroyed, because this is just a grand building," said Rebecca Fisher, whose family-operated company has kept a Post Office box there since 1962.
The building was built in 1933 and is made of white Texas limestone and Texas granite trim with Tennessee marble wainscoting, according to a leaflet produced by the Fort Worth District Star. The lobby has large green columns of Grecian marble, and the upper section is trimmed in bronze.
It will likely be December before the city gets a look at the feasibility study and decides to move forward or scrap the project.
First Published: May 19, 2009 5:58 PM CST
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