Pflugerville council approves Downtown East amendments, adds parking structure despite higher cost

Pflugerville’s City Council on Oct. 14 approved a suite of agreements to keep the Downtown East development moving, including amendments to City Hall and infrastructure purchase-and-sale agreements and a new purchase agreement for a parking structure.

City staff and Griffin Swinterton representatives told council the Downtown East site is under active construction: underground utilities and base street networks in Phase 1A are largely complete, City Hall steel has been topped out and concrete pours are underway. Staff said savings realized on the City Hall contract are being reallocated to pay part of the parking structure and plaza work.

Council discussed the new parking-structure price, which staff said rose to $18.6 million after a year of detailed design and market escalation. “A year ago we had no design,” a city representative said. Staff attributed the escalation to more-precise structural and geotechnical needs, market cost escalation and tariff-driven increases for steel and electrical equipment. The team said they already have buyouts in place for large portions of City Hall and the rec center, which reduces the exposure to further inflation for the larger buildings.

Council members pressed for details about the Gilliland Creek bridge and the federal review needed to work in the floodplain. Staff said a CLOMR (Conditional Letter of Map Revision) process with FEMA was submitted in March and could take nine to 12 months; bridge design fees were cited at $108,000 and bridge construction including embankments at just under $4 million. Staff said the parking structure construction and plaza work will be funded using a combination of project savings, previously allocated TERS dollars (about $8 million allocated toward the structure) and the developer purchase agreement.

The council approved the three items by motion. Staff reiterated that construction remains on schedule for a November 2026 completion target and that the overall Downtown East project is still within the project-wide budget the city approved earlier. The approvals included direction that future condominium/regime documents and lease arrangements for retail and café space would return to council for separate consideration.

Action taken: Council approved (a) an amendment to the City Hall purchase-and-sale agreement that reallocates $2.9 million of savings to other project needs; (b) an amendment to the infrastructure purchase-and-sale agreement; and (c) a purchase-and-sale agreement for the Downtown East parking structure. Motions carried; vote tallies were not recorded in the public audio record.

Why it matters: Downtown East includes City Hall, a multigenerational recreation center, parking and supporting public infrastructure. Approvals move construction forward while shifting some budgeted savings to cover rising costs for the parking structure and plaza work.

What’s next: Staff said the city will return with documents relating to condominium regimes for retail parcels and to discuss café lease terms. Construction sequencing for Phase 1B infrastructure and the bridge was described as starting within weeks for some segments.