Texas Facilities Commission Considers Street Closures To Expand Capitol Complex

Consolidating these employees would provide modern and efficient office environments, improve operation efficiencies and benefit those who wish access to state agencies by having them in close proximity…

The Texas Facilities Commission is considering a plan to create a pedestrian mall that will be located between Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and 15th Street in downtown Austin.

The plan to create a campus-style mall is included in the first phase of the 2016 Capital Complex Master Plan.

State officials previously requested that Austin city officials waive $7 million in fees for easements and right-of-way usage for the proposed $581 million project that calls for building new office buildings in the capitol complex in order to consolidate state agencies that are now scattered throughout the city in leased space, according to the executive summary of the master plan. 

About 5,000 state employees are housed in 22 leased facilities located throughout the city.

Consolidating these employees would provide modern and efficient office environments, improve operation efficiencies and benefit those who wish access to state agencies by having them in close proximity, according to the master plan.

The first phase calls for adding three blocks of mall landscaping and streetscaping, 4,840 parking spaces, most likely under the mall, and infrastructure upgrades to allow the construction of buildings.

This story originally published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc.