Construction Begins On $581M Capitol Complex/Texas Mall

The two new office buildings will help the state eliminate its reliance on commercial lease space, consolidate widely dispersed state agencies, and create greater operational and fiscal efficiency…

Visible signs of construction are apparent for the $581 million Capitol Complex in downtown Austin. The Texas Facilities Commission has slated 2022 as the completion date for the project.

The first phase of the master plan includes two new office buildings and five levels of underground parking, which will be the base of a new, pedestrian-oriented Texas Mall.

The two new office buildings will help the state eliminate its reliance on commercial lease space, consolidate widely dispersed state agencies, and create greater operational and fiscal efficiency in state government. In Austin, the state currently leases 1.2 million square feet of space. 

An extension of the Capitol Complex will provide an open space area called the Texas Mall. The mall will provide a gateway to the complex from the north and provide open space for state employees, visitors and special events.

Congress Avenue will become a pedestrian-only tree-lined mall with lawn panels extending north of 15th Street to 18th Street. The lawn panels will continue from 18th Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard with travel lanes for vehicular drop-off.

Space for vehicles at the complex will be provided by a combination of underground parking below the Texas Mall and parking structures integrated into each new building.

In the future, parking for state workers and visitors will be much more conveniently located. This parking strategy will eventually replace the need for some of the parking garages located between San Jacinto Boulevard and Trinity Street, allowing this area to be redeveloped.

The first phase includes: 

 • A 14-story, 603,000-square-foot office building at 1801 Congress Ave., the site of a former surface parking lot, to be named after George H. W. Bush. 

 • A 12-story, 420,00-square-foot office building at 1601 Congress Ave. 

 • 3,800 parking spaces between underground and above-ground garages. 

 • A pedestrian mall along Congress Avenue from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 16th Street. 

Second and third phases could add additional office space and extend the pedestrian mall, but funding is not yet available. View Capitol Complex project update here.

This story originally published on Strategic Partnerships, Inc.