Downtown Office Space Consolidation
formerly "New City Hall"
CIP 840-607-3009
Summary This first phase of the New City Hall Project provided architectural and planning programmatic information to establish facility size and budget. Also included was project phasing and schedule, analysis of which Departments will be housed within the building, environmental site assessment and financial analysis. The downtown Business Group (comprised of members of the Downtown Austin Alliance, Real Estate Council of Austin, Austin Area Research Organization, and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce) and the City staff studied four options: lease space, purchase of a building, private build and City build. It was determined that the option of City build will not be considered at this time, due to high cost.
Status
On February 29, 1996, the City Council approved Amendment #2 to the professional services agreement with Keyser Marston Associates, Inc., which will add a real estate consultant to their downtown redevelopment team. Building on the recommendations made by the Business Group, the real estate consultant will investigate current and actual opportunities in the following areas:
- long-term lease consolidation for 325,000 NUSF (net usable square feet), including contract with the buildings currently occupied by the City, and including an option to purchase
- purchase of an existing building or campus of buildings comprising 325,000 NUSF
- public/private partnership for constructin of an new City Hall with 325,000 NUSF
In July the City Manager and the consultant staff made a presentation to the City Council. Currently the City staff is looking at options for long-term lease consolidation of Downtown office space.
Issues
A Downtown Development report was given to a City Council Work Session on January 5, 1994. The report gave an overview of the activity within the City's downtown including proposals for a New City Hall, a Downtown Art Museum, and downtown malls. The recommendation was made that the City should take pro-active role in the development of downtown and that the City should maximize it's investment potential. Toward this end, several analyses and studies should be conducted which look at the impact of the separate issues on the overall downtown development. One of the contributing elements to this overview which should be investigated is the New City Hall Project.
Description
Of the 325,000 NUSF the City of Austin currently occupys in the Downtown area the City currently leases over 225,000 NUSF, with an annual expenditure in excess of $2,700,000. By the end of 1998, many of the current leases will be re-negotiated. It is projected that the City will spend approximately $3,400,000 for the same leased space.
Basic Data
Project Manager: Kalpana Sutaria, Department of Public Works and Transportation, 499-7225
Amount Appropriated: $342,500
Completion Date (Phase I): February 1995
Revised August 28, 1996
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