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The Dallas County Commissioners Court held its first meeting at its new downtown home Tuesday.
After six years of renovation, three historic buildings on Elm and Commerce streets have been merged into a single office space for 700 of the county’s employees.
Commissioner Elba Garcia, who chairs the Facilities Committee, said the old buildings lacked connectivity and had inefficient workspaces.
“My biggest achievement is that we were able to preserve three historic buildings and have the capability to provide a good workspace for our employees,” Garcia told The Dallas Morning News.
During construction, the 1915 Old Criminal Courts Building, the 1928 Records Building and the 1955 Records Building Annex were seamlessly built into each other. The new space totals more than 286,000 square feet.
The now-singular building has not been officially renamed, but most continue to refer to it as the Records Building.
Dallas County spent $210 million on the renovation. Assistant county administrator Jonathon Bazan oversaw the construction and said the county relied on certificates of obligation in a “pay as you go” method. The project did not increase the tax rate, he said. The county is expected to be debt-free by 2031.
“In comparison with other local governments, Dallas County has one of the lowest debt per capita ratios in Texas,” Bazan said.
In 2014, the Commissioners Court appointed a citizen committee to determine the state of county buildings and potential improvements. The committee — composed of financial, real estate and construction experts — reviewed existing county facilities and considered relocation or selling the West End buildings.
The following year, the committee recommended that the Commissioners Court renovate the buildings. In 2016, many county employees moved into buildings on Elm and Jackson streets.
The six-year project addressed health concerns, cleaned and restored and completely changed some aspects of the buildings.
Throughout construction, crews addressed “significant amounts of lead paint and asbestos throughout the facility,” Dallas County’s construction webpage said.
More than a third of the Old Criminal Courts was a decommissioned jail that had been vacant for more than 20 years. The floors of the former jail were demolished, and the space was used to align the Old Criminal Courts and Records buildings, Bazan said.
“We kept sections, including the death row cells, to utilize in future exhibits,” he said.
All heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical systems were replaced and the exterior facade was cleaned and repaired. Dallas’ Landmark Commission oversaw exterior improvements. Designs and paint for each of the building’s 542 windows had to be approved by the commission, Bazan said
The two older buildings are listed as state historical landmarks with the Texas Historical Commission, so some improvements required state consultation, Bazan said.
The interior of the building didn’t require oversight, but commissioners wanted to preserve historical uses and events through markers around the building.
The county building is part of a larger project to renovate and relocate county operations. Government centers across the county host localized services such as justices of the peace, truancy courts, tax offices and constable offices.
The $8 million Dallas County Government Center in Grand Prairie opened in 2013, North Dallas’ new county government center opened in 2019 to the tune of $30.4 million, and the South Dallas County Government Center opened in 2019, costing $50 million. Last December, the county opened its $35-million Oak Cliff government center, and Mesquite is in the pipeline.
In the last 10 years, the county’s deferred maintenance costs have dropped from from $100 million to less than $20 million.
“These buildings will serve more in a more efficient way,” Garcia said.