$900M project to reshape area north of Capitol, bring thousands more workers into downtown Austin

[TexasTowelie]

A major Austin employer is in the midst of a nearly $900 million project that will bring more than 3,000 additional workers into the heart of downtown.

But it’s not Google, Apple, Indeed or some other high-tech heavyweight behind the huge initiative -- it’s Texas state government.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-backed bonds have been authorized by state lawmakers to fund an ongoing effort to transform the four blocks of Congress Avenue immediately north of the Capitol.

The $895 million development -- counting $313.7 million for phase II approved during the just-ended legislative session, and $581.2 million for phase I approved in 2015 -- will include 1.5 million square feet of space in four new state buildings, below-ground parking and a pedestrian-friendly promenade for public gatherings and festivals that will stretch from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 15th Street.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190705/900m-project-to-reshape-area-north-of-capitol-bring-thousands-more-workers-into-downtown-austin

[StopTheNeoCons]

1. Why?

[TexasTowelie]

2. They will save $25 million a year leasing office space.

Some of those offices are in poor shape, such as the Hobby State Building where I used to work. It's possible that some of the agencies that move there will have improved access to public transportation which is a benefit to both the employees that work there along with the customers that they serve.

It also gives legislators at the Capitol improved access to those agencies and vice versa. I used to work near the Capitol grounds so I found myself in the Capitol a few times a year to attend meetings and being a go-fer to transport hard copies of reports that we provided to the legislators and governor.