With the addition of a 32,000-sq-ft, two-story building, the city of Grand Prairie wanted to create a sprawling City Hall complex that would connect two existing municipal buildings to a brand new, modern structure.

The new building would serve as the main entrance, connecting the old City Hall and Development Center buildings. It would house the city’s central offices, including the mayor’s office and spaces for other key city officials.

To make this happen, the project team took steps to minimize disruptions to the city’s daily operations while also ensuring architectural cohesiveness between the new and old buildings.

Adjacent buildings, streets, parking lots and sidewalks needed to remain open to city employees and the public throughout construction. During preconstruction and construction, there were numerous coordination meetings between the design team, the city’s construction manager and various city departments to limit disruptions.

The start of construction led to the discovery of multiple utility lines that did not show up in site surveys. The project team worked with the city’s IT department to trace the lines back to existing facilities so they could be relocated away from the new building’s footprint.

The two existing buildings underwent facade improvements to unify them with the new architecture. The Development Center also received an interior renovation and upgrades to the landscape, parking lots, sidewalks and plazas.

One of the project’s features is a rain garden with a concrete creek that collects rainwater from the north parking lot and flows through the site. Because the rain garden travels underneath the building, the project team had to coordinate with the earthwork, concrete and steel contractor to make sure the two structures were properly configured.

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