The Texas Capitol Mall area in downtown Austin is getting new buildings and other changes.
The Texas Facilities Commission says that on Thursday morning, the ground was broken for Phase 2 of the Texas Capitol Complex project. This means that work on two new state office buildings and one more block of the public Capitol Mall along North Congress Avenue will begin.
The new state office buildings will include the following:
- A five-story, 165,000-square-foot building at 1500 Congress Avenue, to be occupied by the Texas Department of Safety and other state agencies
- A second office building at 1501 Lavaca will be eight stories tall, 360,000 square feet, and will provide state-owned office space.
- Both buildings will have onsite parking for state employees.
According to Kxan, The project is slated to be complete in late 2026 and ready for tenant occupancy in early 2027. In Phase 2 of the project, the Capitol Mall will be extended from 16th Street to 15th Street, facing the north door to the Texas Capitol Building. This will make the pedestrian mall four blocks long.
According to the Texas Facilities Commission, the goal is to stop using private lease space and move widely spread state agencies into state-owned workspaces. This is what the legislature told the commission to do. The TFC says that Texas spends more than $37 million a year to house more than 7,500 state workers in business lease space in the Austin area.
When state departments have offices in buildings owned by the state, they don’t have to pay rent or utilities. They also get help from TFC property management services. JE Dunn, HOK, Square One, and more than 100 experts, subcontractors, and trade partners are on the project team. Since 2019, the TFC and project team have made plans for Phase 2.
“It is an honor for the Texas Facilities Commission to lead the construction of the next phase of the iconic Capitol Complex,” Mike Novak executive director of the Texas Facilities Commission said. “Our team remains resolute in upholding the professionalism we demonstrated in delivering Phase 1 on time and within budget. Today we reconfirm our commitment to developing efficient workspaces for state government and public spaces encapsulating the spirit of the great State of Texas.”
The first phase of the Capitol Complex – The Capitol Complex Master Plan from 2016 showed how the state-owned land around the Capitol building would be redeveloped in three stages. You must also check Texas Legislators Advocate For More Homes To Combat Rising Housing Prices.
The TFC says that Phase 1 included the George HW Bush State Office Building at 1801 Congress and the Barbara Jordan Building at 1601 Congress. It also included a new Central Utility Plant, underground parking spaces, and three city blocks of green space for walking.
In 2022, Phase I was done. The first tenant from a State body moved out in April 2022, and the last one moved out in October 2022. Now, 98% of the stock for the TFC Capitol Complex is full.
