Sixteen acres of city-owned land in the center of downtown, surrounded by public buildings, plazas, streets, and parking lots.
The map shows the land around City Hall, who owns it, and which parcels have no building listed.
dallascad.org, 2025 + City of Dallas GIS. “No building listed” means DCAD lists no building area for the account — not that the land is vacant.
The city has authorized a search of up to four downtown sites for a new City Hall, but it has not publicly named them. The stated reason is leverage: if building owners know which properties Dallas is considering, they may demand more money.
Every destination belongs to somebody, and leaving a building the public owns outright means buying or renting from one of them. Reporting on the search counted at least fifteen properties toured, including Founders Square at 1000 Jackson Street. Its owner, developer Ray Washburne, has published an op-ed pitching it as City Hall's next home.
So the public knows the city is looking. It does not know where, whether it would lease, buy, or build, what any destination would cost, or what it would take to make ordinary office space work as a city hall. The sites are supposed to return to the council for another decision this month. See when that happens.
