Members of the steering committee charged with shaping the future of the Palm School property downtown expect to begin their work later this month, while a handful of major infrastructure projects are moving forward throughout the larger Palm District that stretches from the southern edge of the Rainey Street District to Waterloo Park on 15th Street.
A recent memo from the Planning Department spells out some of the many entities continuing or beginning construction in the district, which could play a significant role in the use and future of the historic school that is a focal point of local Latino culture. The memo, from Planning Department Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt, spells out the state of the district as a whole, including:
At the Palm School, which is owned by Travis County, the 13 members appointed to a new steering committee in May will host their first meet-and-greet meeting later this month. The county has directed the group to design a community engagement process that will lead to a concept plan for the property, as well as review past practices and ideas related to the reimagining of the school.
Andrew Gonzales, an Austin school board member who was appointed to the committee, said he’s looking forward to working on the future of the historic property after almost two years of consideration by the county on how to proceed. He said a number of ideas are already being discussed in the community for how to use the school as a gathering place and educational asset.
“I’m not really sure what the timetable looks like for coming up with a final decision or even what options are on the table. Based on following what people have proposed, there are a lot of different potentials that have been mentioned, from early childhood to some type of museum to a larger type of development,” he said. “The possibilities that could come with all of the development that’s occurring around it in the future are really endless. I look forward to the conversations that the committee is going to have in partnership with the county to determine what’s going to happen with that space that really is respectful of its history.”
On the city side, planners are monitoring the many ambitious projects within the district that will influence how welcoming the area will be as a whole. Stevie Greathouse, division manager in the Planning Department, said next steps such as the design work for the convention center’s reconstruction, which will cost $1.7 billion, are being evaluated in the context of the goals for the larger surrounding area.
“It’s making sure that as the different entities are working on their parts of the sandbox, that it’s going to make sense as a whole, and when we and the county get done with planning for the future … how that’s going to work and interplay with the redesign and reconstruction of Palm Park that’s happening as part of the Waterloo Greenway process,” she said. “That redesign is a huge. … That’s a huge epicenter of the plan.”
Greathouse said all of the construction activity already taking place and planned for the district makes it easier for the city and county to realize the larger goals of the relevant plans.
“This particular district of downtown Austin, because of the amount of investment that is coming to it, both the public side and the private side, is not short on the transformational change and investment in actual physical space,” Greathouse said. “It’s not like we’ve got this pie-in-the-sky idea about capping 35. We are actually making that reality as we speak.”
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.
And we’re honored you look to us for serious, in-depth news. You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting. We’re here for you and that won’t change. Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization?
Palm School: Currently the home of the Travis County Health and Human Services and Veteran Services building, the Palm School opened as one of the first elementary schools in 1892, and operated as an elementary school for 84 years. It is located at Cesar Chavez and IH-35.
