Vision for City Hall -- and more -- is taking shape in North Richland Hills

By Gene Trainor

Special to the Star-Telegram

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- Visitors to the planned new City Hall off Boulevard 26 would travel on a broad, 810-foot-long road before they arrive at the $70 million complex if an advisory committee for the project has its way.

Shops and businesses would line both sides of the road as visitors approach the plaza at the V-shaped, three-floor City Hall.

Such is the current vision for the estimated 180,000-square-foot complex at the vacant North Hills Mall site.

Eventually, the entire 80-acre mall area could have restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and lofts.

The seven-member City Hall advisory committee wants a complex that represents North Richland Hills well, Director of Public Safety Jimmy Perdue said at a recent City Council workshop.

"That's one of the things that I think we're really good at," said Perdue, who is managing the project. "We know who we are. We know what we represent. We know what our community wants."

In May, voters approved $48 million in bonds to help pay for the complex. In September, the council voted to increase the property tax rate 4 cents to 61 cents per $100 of assessed value to cover the bond payments.

The rest of the money is expected to come primarily from city gas leases and the sale of city property after City Hall is built.

The complex will provide space for 330 employees and house city offices, the Municipal Court, and the police and fire departments. The project was launched because the state's expansion of Northeast Loop 820 encroaches on the current City Hall.

On Nov. 12, the council voted 7-0 to hire Dallas-based Balfour Beatty Construction from a pool of 15 companies as the "construction manager at risk," or builder, for an initial $32,000. The cost is expected to go much higher as the company begins work.

The city is likely to finalize the sale of the needed 12 acres from the California-based Kest family within weeks, Perdue said. The building is expected to open in late 2015.

Mayor Pro Tem Tom Lombard called the hiring of Balfour Beatty a milestone: "We've come a long, long way since May of this year when we passed our bond election."

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