‘A place for the people of Fort Worth’: Take a look at the new city council chamber
The final piece of Fort Worth’s $230 million new City Hall complex will open Tuesday at the city council prepares to hold its first meeting in the new chamber.
City officials showed off the new chamber Monday with a preview for members of the media ahead of the March 25 meeting.
A city hall is a strong reflection of where you’re going as a city, and the new chamber does that, said Mayor Mattie Parker.
“This is a place for the people of Fort Worth to come and enjoy and interact with their city hall,” she said highlighting new features including new technology, additional seating, and improved acoustics to help both members of the public and the city council hear speakers at the meeting.
City departments began moving into the new City Hall building at 100 Fort Worth Trail in early 2024, including several departments related to development and construction.
That “one-stop-shop” approach has already improved service for members of the public and the development community, said City Manager Jay Chapa.
When more departments are located near each other, collaboration happens more organically, Chapa said.
The new chamber, located just to the right of the main entrance to the new City Hall building, has large windows that look West onto the Trinity River and toward the future Panther Island.
The city purchased the former Pier 1 tower in 2021 for $70 million and originally planned to spend an additional $30 million on finish out.
However an expanding scope, unforeseen maintenance issues, and inflation have increased the total cost to roughly $230 million.
Both Parker and former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price argued that building a new city hall from scratch would have cost the city an additional $120 million.
“I’m not saying it was cheap, but it was less than building new,” Price said.
Price stated that as cities grow, governments can become disconnected from residents.
However, the new building and the new chamber creates a place where citizens can engage and be comfortable interacting with their elected representatives, Price said.
“It gives them a place they can call home,” she said.
The new council chamber will officially open at 10 a.m. on March 25 for the first council meeting in the new City Hall.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM.
.jpg)