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I-35 Makeover Construction Progress – LOOKING GOOD

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We’ve been covering the I-35 makeover for years, and it’s exciting to see it taking shape.   It’s more impressive in real life than it did as a rendered concept.  The polished inverted arches are huge – the size of these things needs to be seen up close.

I-35 Makeover, Day Perspective

Architect Phillip Reed of COTERA+REED ARCHITECTS explains to us the expected construction schedule. “…work will complete on the north block – roughly around Thanksgiving – and then start on the south block, which will complete around the middle of February.”

According to Reed, an artist is currently working on some programs for the lighting – which will be attached to the bottom of the stitches.  “When only the north block is open, it will only have a very neutral light quality, but when both blocks are open the lighting will be programmed to change,” Reed says.

Thanks to downtown Austin entrepreneur and purveyor of rave supplies, Neville Medhora @ nevblog.com, for his pics and video (taken yesterday)!

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Friday June 25th: I-35 Makeover Groundbreaking Ceremony

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PROJECT BACKGROUND & FACT SHEET

In 2004, a diverse group of citizens, businesses, and neighborhood leaders formed the I-35 Makeover Coalition to help transform this area into a public asset. They began working for a safe, clean and attractive gateway reconnecting downtown to East Austin. This area was a broad boulevard called Eastside Drive until postwar era, when IH-35 was built over it in a series of elevated and buried sections.

The Makeover Coalition provided the support necessary to improve this connection between downtown and the east side of Austin. The coalition obtained a grant of $250,000 from Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) to help fund the landscape portion.

City Council approved two funding sources for this project. They first approved a resolution in March, 2005 explicitly supporting the use of parking revenue from the City-managed IH-35 parking lots for the IH-35 Makeover Project. In March of 2007, City Council passed a resolution setting aside $1.5 million to be provided by the future issuance of non-tax supported certificates of obligation.

These funding sources have allowed the City to move forward with the IH-35 Makeover Project, which will include reconstructing the parking lot areas, with curb and gutters to improve drainage in the area. The concrete will be cleaned, signs removed and replaced, and specialty lighting fixtures will enhance the safety, comfort, and aesthetics of the area.

The lighting project will be done through the City’s Art in Public Places Program and will be programmed LED lights in arches over the parking lots. A computer-generated illumination will create a show as well as create safe lighting.

The project is expected to start in June and take approximately seven months, at which time TXDot will begin the landscape improvements funded through the KAB grant.

More of DAB’s coverage of the I-35 Makeover

I-35 Makeover Site Plan

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WCCAC was just emailed a site plan for the I-35 Makeover.  You’ll recall this project has been lingering for years, but was formally approved and funded this past April.  We knew the parking layout would change, and now we have a better idea of what to expect.

Is this simply putting lipstick on a pig?  Yes, and it’s about time.  Any improvement that helps encourage the pedestrian connection between East Austin and downtown Austin is a worthy endeavor.

I-35 Makeover Project Approved & Funded

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cross section of I35 showing soon-to-be-installed lighting

Downtown Austin’s stretch of I-35 will receive some much needed improvements, confirming our report from September of last year.  Short of burying or capping I-35, these improvements are the best we can hope for.  A grant from Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) will contribute $250,000 towards the landscaping.  City Council set aside $1.5MM in form of non-tax supported certificates of obligation (bonds, I guess?).  Revenues from the parking underneath the freeway (which will be completely redesigned) will also fund the project.

The project is expected to start in June and take approximately seven months.

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Below is a photo of Eastside Drive East Avenue, the boulevard predecessor of I35.

East Avenue before I-35

For Real This Time: The I-35 Makeover Is Happening

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I-35 Makeover, Day Perspective
I-35 Makeover, Day Perspective

In 2006, neighborhood associations on both sides of the interstate were empowered to develop a concept to enhance East-West pedestrian movement beneath I-35.  The vision was to take what is the most trafficked overpass in Austin, and create a landscape that is lighter and smaller in scale than the one currently dominated by the car.

The downtown Austin segment of I-35 was constructed in 1962 and served to physically reinforce the racial divide that East Avenue had historically represented.

Now, the City of Austin leases from the State the land below the I-35 freeway.  The area is uninviting to say the least.  As part of the makeover, that area will remain parking, while the perimeter and sidewalks connecting East Side to downtown will get something closer to the “Great Streets” treatment including trees, wider sidewalks, and benches.

From Cotera+Reed Architects:

“Fourteen curved and tapered galvanized steel poles will be supported under the freeway deck, and area lighting is attached along the undersides. Individually, the shape of the poles resembles a suspension bridge – re-associating the spot with connecting. Connecting land masses, across an interruption of the landscape, proposing the idea of separation and connecting at the same time. It is intended to be a gesture – a handshake under the freeway.”

Construction is scheduled to begin as early as February 2010.

-Jude

I-35, night perspective
I-35 Makeover, Night Perspective

Waller Creek Meeting Notes

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waller-creek-tunnel-city-acquires-land

At last night’s WCCAC meeting:

1) We learned that the City is negotiating the purchase of three contiguous lots located along southbound frontage road and bounded by 4th and 5th Streets.  This area hosts the east bank of Waller Creek between 4th and 5th and is currently used as a surface parking lot.  The land acquisition will be purchased with funds from the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, and will likely become a temporary staging ground for the construction of the tunnel.  Ironically [to me at least] these lots are not on FEMA’s 100 year flood maps, and therefore wouldn’t directly benefit from the tunnel improvements designed to remove land from the 100 year flood plain. The lots are encumbered by Capitol View Corridors, though.  You can see the lots under “Kuykendall Addn”.

2) The WCCAC made an official recommendation to City Council that the Strategy 1 improvements identified by ROMA’s Waller Creek District Master Plan be included in the items for the 2010 Transportation Bond.  The bond is limited to issues of mobility, including pedestrian uses such as the conversion of Sabine Street into a promenade.

3) Perry Lorenz provided citizen communication that the 21c project is moving forward and the development team is flying to Austin from Louisville with updates in the first week of December.  In addition to getting a more comprehensive project status, we should receive a better idea of the amount and types of consideration the project is paying towards Waller Creek improvements adjacent to the property.

4) The I-35 Makeover project is going to be complete in 2010 and will be funded from the parking fees collected underneath I-35.  No word yet on improvements to the 4th Street overpass, but WCCAC requested to be included as a stakeholder should that discussion commence.

5) Matt Knifton of the Texas Rowing Center provided citizen communication about TRC’s bid for the boathouse.  Notably, last year TRC donated roughly $30,000 in community outreach in the form of education and classes for minority children and those with disabilities.  Matt estimated that as a PARD concessionaire since 1999, the TRC has returned over $400,000 to the city;moreover, throughout a 20 year lease of the new boathouse, there is potential to generate nearly $3MM in concession revenue for the city.  The TRC would have the opportunity to further increase their community outreach programs, making the lake more accessible to more Austinites.

In summary, it’s nice to see action and momentum!

-Jude

Tonight's WCCAC Agenda

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This evening is our monthly meeting of the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee (WCCAC).  I’m especially interested to get the updates on the I-35 makeover project.

WALLER CREEK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING AGENDA

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE WALLER CREEK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL MEET ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12th, 2009, AT 6:00 P.M. IN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, CITY HALL, 301 WEST SECOND STREET

The City Council Waller Creek Citizen Advisory Committee may go into a closed session under the Open Meetings Act, Section 551.071, of the Texas Government Code, to receive advice from legal counsel on any item on this agenda.

Call Meeting to Order

1. Approval of Minutes – (October 22, 2009)

2. Citizen Communication (3 minutes)

3. Waller Creek Master Plan Update – Discussion

Jim Robertson, COA

4. IH-35 Makeover Project – Discussion

Erica Leak, COA

5. WCCAC-Parks Board Joint Subcommittee – Discussion

Sara Hensley, COA

6. Waller Creek Tunnel Update – Discussion

Gary Jackson, COA

7. Competitive Design Process – Discussion

Jude Galligan, WCCAC

8. Waller Creek District surface improvements/2010 Transportation Bond Election

Discussion and possible action

Jeb Boyt, WCCAC

9. Future Agenda Items for December 3, 2009 Meeting

Discussion and Possible Action

Downtown News & Rumor Roundup

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Seaholm Intake given new lease on life

This Thursday, City Hall will announce the top three submissions for the Seaholm Intake reuse project, which seeks to breath life into a behemoth concrete building on the north shore of Lady Bird Lake.

The top ten visions were announced just recently and KVUE did a nice job of compiling an in-depth 27-pic slide show of the ideas.

This is a project long simmering that is starting to boil. A big hat tip to Council Member Chris Riley’s office and the City Parks and Rec Department for keeping the heat on.

Look back here Thursday for the Top 3 finalists.

Travis County Courthouse update

Travis County Commissioners Court has decided how it wants to build a proposed new civil and family courthouse, Community Impact reports.

The project is controversial because the county paid a hefty sum for a parking lot, effectively removing one of the last remaining developable blocks for a mega tower in downtown from the tax rolls.

The county is going with the design-build route, which puts the risk on the county but allows it to retain more control of the project. The alternative would have been a public private partnership, which would have deferred risk, but loosened county control.

The county plans to float bonds for the project, and confirmed plans to go to voters for approval at some unknown date.

I’m not going to hold my breath until a new county judge is elected. Either Andy Brown or Sarah Eckhardt could change course if elected, and I’m not entirely sure the public will approve the project to begin with.  If you’ve ever suffered through a Travis County Commissioner’s Court hearing, the court doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Dropbox moving into downtown Austin

Silicon Hills darling Dropbox is following other tech leaders and establishing another office in Austin, rumored to be downtown. Take that, Domain and Williamson County!

Two downtown developments gained site plan approval

When proposing a new project, the site plan approval period is the longest phase of city bureaucracy, laden with risks that can delay or derail a project. Getting the plans approved is a milestone.

Rendering of Capital Studios by Dick Clark Architecture
Rendering of Capital Studios by Dick Clark Architecture

In July, Capital Studios — a smart project adding affordable multifamily to downtown — and a new hotel at at Fifth and San Antonio (Derp: San Jacinto) both received site plan approvals.

The next step, which can happen in relatively short order, is to get a building permit, and break ground.

Here’s to hoping the hotel changed the architectural design a little. You may recall a January post where I poked fun at it for being a carbon copy of another hotel down the street.  You be the judge.

I-35 Cut ‘n’ Cap proposal getting national attention

I haven’t posted on the Reconnect Austin campaign to bury I-35 yet. For the record, I am for it, not the least for how it would open up the Waller Creek district in an unimaginable way.

If you’d like to learn more about the project, the national sustainable transportation advocacy blog Streetblog.net recently featured it.

Link Round Up

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  1. Facebook moves into their downtown Austin offices at 300 W 6th Street, on Monday.  This building has 22 stories, built in 2002, and is pretty nice looking, though I never know what to call it.  It’s between Lavaca and Guadalupe, across from Belmont.  It will now be called the Facebook Building.  (ABJ)
  2. The site at 2nd and Congress, where that 1000 room hotel was to be built, still could end up with a hotel, just a different hotel, but right now they are just planning for a hotel.  Oh well.  (Statesman)
  3. If you didn’t catch it yesterday, the I35 Makeover is official, funded, and soon to be under construction. (DAB)
  4. Michael Barnes shares the A-List hotel bars in Austin.  Driskill #1, Four Seasons, #2.  I would agree with those for downtown.  Overlooked was the Finn & Porter lounge at the Hilton –  the upstairs lounge has an easy going and chilled out vibe.  (Austin360)