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Commission hears update on Austin Convention Center expansion; demolition to begin in May, public art and usage of site remain unresolved
Summary
Vice Chair Patterson and working-group members said demolition of the existing Austin Convention Center will begin in May, with the convention center fenced in April; public art and the previous plan for a mixed-use public-private tower remain unresolved and community outreach is planned.
Vice Chair Patterson briefed the commission on the Austin Convention Center expansion and said the existing convention center will be fenced in April and demolition is scheduled to begin in May to make way for the replacement facility.
Patterson said the convention-center public/privately partnered “tower” concept that had included hotel or housing uses is no longer financially feasible and the city will retain that footprint within the convention center’s program for now; the ultimate use of the footprint has not been decided. She said convention-center staff will present to City Council and then begin expanded community outreach, and the commission’s Joint Arts and Music Land Use Working Group has requested a dedicated session for arts and music stakeholders in April after South by Southwest.
Patterson also noted public-art impacts. Several pieces will be removed and repurposed for the new building, but an iconic John Yancey mosaic mural may be difficult or prohibitively expensive to salvage; Patterson asked community members with art-restoration expertise to contact staff. She said convention-center staff are exploring design approaches that break the massing into smaller buildings and more pedestrian-friendly streets, and that parts of the new layout may be built partially underground.
Commissioners raised funding questions and long-term effects on hotel-occupancy-tax–funded programs. Patterson said convention-center staff told the working group that the project’s $1.6 billion estimate includes debt service, but commissioners noted ongoing public concern about total project costs and about how hot-tax revenue will be allocated between the convention-center debt, surrounding hotels and arts/music promotion.
Convention-center staff are reportedly contacting nearby hotels and businesses within a half-mile to start outreach and will later expand the outreach area; staff said arts and music stakeholders will be invited to a session anticipated in April.
