Downtown

July 1999

• 200 Block Congress Avenue
  Construction and utility delays extended completion date to the end of July. The project is complete, except for the tree planting, which will be done in the fall.

• Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH)
  The City's recent agreement with the Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) requires that the resource center be relocated. City staff have secured an alternative site for this program at 701 West Fifth Street. This property is currently leased by the City, and is being remodeled to accommodate ARCH programs. The ARCH will be relocated to this property by the beginning of August.

• Downtown Design Guidelines
  The Design Commission completed the final draft of the guidelines, and forwarded them to the City Council in May. The commission is preparing a public review and comment process.

• Downtown Development Initiatives
  
  • Waller Creek: The Downtown Austin Alliance has convened a group of the Waller Creek stakeholders and the affected City of Austin departments. They have chosen consultant Chuck Flink to help the group develop the Waller Creek Urban Greenway Action Plan. Chuck Flink will be in Austin August 30th and 31st to assist in raising the $35,000 for the action plan.
  • Downtown Development Advisory Group: The Downtown Development Advisory Group has their final report ready to forward to the City Council. Included in the report is a recommendation for a downtown planning and development corporation.
  • Heritage Austin: Heritage Austin is a program of the Heritage Society of Austin. The team, comprising five local architects, met with many members of the public to develop a vision for downtown. They are expecting to complete their report Heritage Austin: A Community Value Based Vision by early September

• Downtown Litter Removal
  Beginning May 1, 1999, the Downtown Austin Alliance started its annual contract with Easter Seals of Central Texas for litter removal. The contract covers sidewalks and Waller Creek. Heavily trafficked sidewalks are cleaned once per day, other sidewalks are cleaned once per week. Special cleanups can be arranged. Call 469-1766 for more details.

• Downtown Parking Study
  The contract was awarded to Wilbur Smith Associates on June 3, 1999. The project should begin in August. The project scope has been increased to include parts of S. Congress and E. 11th and 12th Streets.

• Downtown Tuesday Noontime Concerts
  The Fall 1999 season will begin September 7 and will run every Tuesday, 12 noon-1:00 p.m. until October 26.

• Driskill Hotel Corner (E. 6th Street & Brazos Street)
  The project is complete. The orange fencing that is currently on the corner belongs to the Driskill Hotel. The temporary fencing is for work they are doing to their portico on the 6th Street side of the Hotel.

• Great Streets Program
  The next planned projects are 4th St. between Guadalupe & Trinity and Red River between 4th & 10th. Accessible, shady, pedestrian-friendly streetscapes are planned for these areas. Federal funding through the TEA-21 Enhancement Grant program is being sought, as well as private funding.

• One Stop Labor Center
  On Thursday, June 3, 1999 the Austin City Council approved a lease on a facility located at 51st Street and IH-35 for use by the Day Labor Program. Council approved a one-year lease with four one-year extension options. The goal for opening the Day Labor program at the new site is August 9, 1999.

  A contract with day labor specialist Lynn Svensson to guide the implementation process for the new program has been executed. A lease on the new site has been agreed to and work on the necessary improvements to the building and grounds has started. A transition team including, but not limited to, representatives from: workers, employers, neighborhood(s) around new site, and APD was formed. The team held several meeting and made a number of recommendations to help transition the program to the new location.

  The non-profit organization to operate the program at the new site, First Workers' Corporation, has been established as directed by the Council resolution on June 3, 1999. A Board of Directors for the corporation has also been created. The corporation is now in the process of hiring a Site Coordinator and establishing policies and rules for the new program. The City is currently seeking to contract with a professional organizer and is informing workers and employers who use the current site to make sure they know about the relocation.

  Finally, a subcommittee of the transition team is establishing evaluation criteria for the new program model. All stakeholders will agree on this criteria and a review of the program will be conducted after nine months. A decision will then be made to close or relocate the program within the following three months if the criteria has not been fulfilled.

• Poleyard Residential Development
  Details of the ground lease are being finalized. Environmental remediation has been completed. Construction is expected to begin in August.

• Republic Square Advisory Committee New Project
  The City Council has directed the City Manager to convene a stakeholder group for the purpose of developing recommendations for Republic Square Park (see map), including recommendations on short-term plans to improve the design of Republic Square Park as a destination in the growing arts and technology district of downtown Austin and for the purpose of developing long-range recommendations toward the goal of linking Republic Square Park with Plaza Saltillo along the 5th Street corridor. This group shall be called the Republic Square Advisory Committee. The group will convene for a period of 90 to 120 days beginning shortly.

• Scattered Cooperative Infill Housing Program (SCIP II)
  No additional construction has been started and is not anticipated for another 60 days.

• Town Lake Park Master Plan
  On July 29, 1999 the City Council approved the conceptual Master Plan for the park, increasing the spending authorization from $10.8 million to $18.5 million. In addition the Community Events Center has been authorized to expand to 121,000 square feet from 95,000 square feet in order to accommodate the necessary support space for the 70,000 square feet of exhibit space. To accomplish this change, the budget for the Community Events Center and parking garage will increase from $40 million to $46.885 million.

• Waller Creek Flood-Management and Water Quality Improvements
  The Austin City Council approved the contract for project engineering services on May 20. Preliminary engineering studies are underway. The first project public meeting was held June 29. The scope of preliminary engineering studies and project schedule were discussed at the meeting. The preliminary engineering phase is to be completed in February 2000. Another project public meeting will be held in late November or early December of this year. The findings of the preliminary engineering studies will be presented at the second public meeting.