City Manager Brian Latta told the Dallas City Council July 7 that a contractor completed a space-planning analysis for City Hall’s second floor and that, with the new Public Works Building under construction, staff intend to reconfigure the second floor to improve customer flow and secure staff workspaces.

Latta said the analysis, begun in February, produced concept designs that would consolidate Economic and Community Development staff on one side of the building, add a front counter to guide visitors, and create a shared jury/conference room and flexible office space for staff and council use. “As you come up the stairs right now, you kind of don't know where to go. So we're going to knock out a wall and put in a kind of a front counter desk,” Latta said.

He provided staffing relocation numbers tied to the new Public Works Building: six engineering and public-works employees will move to the new building; one to three employees from the west side of City Hall would relocate east; and four other employees not currently located in that area would move back into the reorganized second-floor space. Latta said the permit technician would relocate to be collocated with the rest of the building division and that the city will maintain a front counter and a quasi-open meeting area for plan reviews.

On broader planning, Latta said the city will begin work next calendar year to develop a 2050 community vision. He said staff plan to engage council in early 2026, issue an RFP for a consultant, and complete the community-visioning process by the end of calendar year 2026 so Dallas has an updated 2050 vision to replace the 2030 statement.

Next steps: implement City Hall reconfiguration plans as space is vacated by Public Works staff relocating to the new building; finalize concept designs for construction-readiness; and begin consultant solicitation and council engagement on a 2050 community vision in early 2026.