For two years now, Fort Lauderdale has been a city without a City Hall.
The eight-story building was critically damaged in a record-breaking rainstorm that hit in April 2023, sending floodwaters pouring into the basement. The 1960s-era building lost power, forcing City Hall employees to work from home or in rented space.
The building has since been demolished to make room for a new City Hall.
Mayor Dean Trantalis says he’d like to see it open as soon as possible.
One company, Meridiam Infrastructure North America, has already stepped forward with an unsolicited proposal that city officials say could help speed up the timeline.
Meridiam — the same company that built the Port of Miami tunnel — submitted a proposal on May 15 offering to design, build, finance and operate a new Fort Lauderdale City Hall.
During a recent meeting, Commissioner John Herbst argued against entertaining the concept of an unsolicited proposal, saying it will only push up the price tag.
No one can say yet what the new City Hall is going to cost.
That unanswered question perturbed Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman.
“We need to be responsible in how we put burdens on our residents,” she said. “Yes, we need a City Hall. But I cannot go and buy a Rolls-Royce. I’m not going to buy a Rolls-Royce because I know my budget. Before I go to purchase anything, I consider my budget.”
Trantalis told her it was a good question that can only be answered later on.
“It’s a question that will ultimately have to asked and answered, depending upon the design, depending upon the space,” he said. “We may have to cut back on the amount of space as we look to see what the price tag is.”
Herbst said he’s opposed to relying on an unsolicited proposal to build a new City Hall.
“If we’re going to go down the P3 (public-private partnership) path, I would say the unsolicited P3 path is probably the worst one I can imagine,” he said.
Instead, Herbst said he preferred the usual approach, where the city comes up with a design criteria package along with an estimate of what the project is going to cost, then puts it out to bid.
The mayor argued that approach would slow things down.
“If you follow this path, we won’t get a City Hall until 2030,” Trantalis said.
Commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen agreed.
In the end, the commission agreed to explore the option of partnering with Meridiam or another company that comes forward with a competing proposal.
At the same time, the city will move forward as if it plans to hire a company to assist staff with the planning, design and construction of a new City Hall.
Trantalis made a case for pursuing both options.
“It is costing us a lot of money to be in exile the way we are,” he said. “I do think that we need to move this process along. Construction costs only get more expensive every month, every year we wait. So I see no merit in waiting. Every time we wait, costs go up.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan