Travis county buys lot for new courthouse (in downtown) (Austin: real estate, city hall)

[pjoseph2]

From the Statesman today.

More government peons.

Not good for the Austin vibe and weirdness.

[ImOnFiya]

My prediction is that (at the voting booth) this November: the Travis County Commissioner Court's (TCCC) $300 million dollar bond package to build the courthouse in downtown Austin will *spectacularly* FAIL.

This is one of few issues that will unite both the left and the right within Austin and the County: left-leaning new urbanists, Livable City, downtown residents/ business owners, and neighborhood activists with the Austin Neighborhood Council (ANC), with the right-wing anti-tax, pro-growth business owners, Tea Party, Republican party loyalists.

Our Goal: To defeat the November 2011 bond proposal, thereby forcing TCCC to sell the block to a private interest and look elsewhere in Austin for a courthouse-master campus.

The key to the November vote is the enormous voting influence of the left-leaning, heavily Democratic central city which will not support a new 'dead' block in downtown Austin, esp. near planned build-out of previously 'vacant' (southwest) downtown Austin.

The across-the-board civic opposition with this proposal is already beginning to mobilize.

**I plan on speaking at the next City of Austin Downtown Commission at City Hall, as well as writing letters in opposition to the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA), Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA), Downtown Austin Neighborhood Coalition (DANC), The Real Estate Council of Austin, Inc., the West Downtown Alliance, Inc., and the Austin Neighborhood Council (ANC).

**I will put up organizational email contact information in my next post.**

[pjoseph2]

Thanks, ImOnFiya. This deal is so unlike the spirit of Austin.

The Commissioner's logic of not considering the Highland mall site is laughable. These modern day Julius Caesar largesse has to stop.

[achtungpv]

Probably too many downtown lawyers lobbying that they don't wanna drive to the Highland mall site played a big part in the decision.

$300M. If that ends up the appraised value of the property, that's around $6M in annual taxes that is off the rolls since the County doesn't pay property taxes.

[eastof35]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

Probably too many downtown lawyers lobbying that they don't wanna drive to the Highland mall site played a big part in the decision.

$300M. If that ends up the appraised value of the property, that's around $6M in annual taxes that is off the rolls since the County doesn't pay property taxes.

They also don't want to use our fancy new rail system. it's right there!

[CptnRn]

Almost all of the other courthouses are located downtown. It makes sense that this one should be also. It is centrally located for the entire community. Why should people who live in South Austin have to travel all the way north to Highland Mall if they have business with the court or jury duty? Downtown is where it is now, it is where it belongs and where it should stay. I'm perfectly fine with it and am certain that most other citizens will agree and vote to approve the bonds.

[ImOnFiya]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Almost all of the other courthouses are located downtown. It makes sense that this one should be also. It is centrally located for the entire community. Why should people who live in South Austin have to travel all the way north to Highland Mall if they have business with the court or jury duty? Downtown is where it is now, it is where it belongs and where it should stay. I'm perfectly fine with it and am certain that most other citizens will agree and vote to approve the bonds.

For $300 million dollars...when simply doing a remodel of the existing courthouse would be much economically appropriate during this time of extreme fiscal austerity?

The new courthouse was not a long-running work in progress. Travis County officials 'sprung' their new downtown master plan to the Downtown Commission about 5 months ago with an building outline (and no preliminary budget) which was met with dubious response.

Previously, Travis County was all set to move to a cheaper master campus somewhere in central Austin. With the rise of downtown's fortune, the county now wants to be a 'player' in downtown's development.

However, the courthouse will be a 'dead' block with extreme parking constraints due to its proximity to W. 4th St (warehouse district), W. 2nd St (shopping district), and fronting the entrance to new planned [southwest] portion of downtown.

Austin has developed one of the most unique CBD areas in the country despite of the extreme government presence in the central city, due to its being the state capitol as well as the county seat.

The county's change of plans runs right into the city planners, downtown developers, and neighborhood activists' vision of downtown Austin.

Austin has become a darling of American cities through unique vision, its network of city-private partnerships, and citizen-influenced planning. I do not believe Austin can afford to absorb the 'whimsical' follies of the old guard Travis County Commissioners Court to the tune more than a quarter of a billion dollars.

Plus: Need I mention, the county is strongly hinting an authorization for a tax increase to finance the new courthouse would be in the November bond proposal ?


No. Simply unacceptable.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Almost all of the other courthouses are located downtown. It makes sense that this one should be also. It is centrally located for the entire community. Why should people who live in South Austin have to travel all the way north to Highland Mall if they have business with the court or jury duty? Downtown is where it is now, it is where it belongs and where it should stay. I'm perfectly fine with it and am certain that most other citizens will agree and vote to approve the bonds.

Travis county takes up a bit more space than just the city of Austin.
It should be accessible to all in the county, not just Austin city limits.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Almost all of the other courthouses are located downtown. It makes sense that this one should be also. It is centrally located for the entire community.

Technically, it should be located where the majority of criminals are since they'll use it the most. Put it on the east side.







JK

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

How many new jobs are they going to create and where is the application process??