Austin Monitor reporter Caleb Pritchard sits down with Julia Spann, chair of the community advisory committee for the Civil and Family Court Complex, and Belinda Powell, the county’s strategic resource planning manager, to talk about the continuing Travis County Courthouse saga. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/278227593″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Travis County Civil and Family Courthouse
The Civil and Family Courthouse is currently planned for a redesign with a bond proposal for a 14-story, 511,000-square-foot building with 28 courtrooms.
Posted inTravis County
Courthouse committee seeks Commissioners Court’s guidance
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said on Tuesday that the current gold standard of potential sites for a new civil courthouse is another county-owned property in downtown Austin. “I do understand that, at least in the tier one analysis, it’s actually this building and the associated garage that rank highest,” Eckhardt said, referring to the […]
Posted inTravis County
County keeps controversial property in courthouse hunt
The Travis County Commissioners Court has revised the list of properties in their hunt for a new civil courthouse site, and one parcel that remains in the running is the one that voters rejected last November. Based on recommendations from both county staff and a citizens committee guiding the process, the court voted Tuesday to […]
Posted inTravis County
County moves to add new courthouse to its collection
In its quest to relieve overcrowding at the 85-year-old Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, Travis County is turning its eyes to a younger building: the 81-year-old U.S. Courthouse at 200 W. Eighth St. On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted 4-0 to move forward in the process to try to take the building off the […]
Posted inTravis County
State law stymies county courthouse plans
Travis County’s renewed search for a suitable site for a new civil courthouse is facing stiff headwinds from a state law aimed at stifling development in downtown Austin. Last Wednesday, the Civil and Family Courthouse Community Advisory Committee showed little interest in taking on the Texas Legislature and the Capitol View Corridors that the body […]
Posted inTravis County
County ponders partnership with city on one-stop justice shop
With a pair of aging courthouses between them, Travis County and the city of Austin could find a solution to their problems through mutual cooperation. That idea was part of the focus of a Thursday afternoon work session at Travis County Commissioners Court during which county staff discussed the notion of freeing up land in […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County approves screening process for courthouse sites
Travis County planners are heading back to the laboratory to hash out the pros and cons of several select properties – including the one that voters rejected in November – that could be home to a new civil courthouse. On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved the so-called site evaluation matrix that county staff, […]
Posted inTravis County
County reboots civil courthouse project
Less than three months after voters rejected a nine-figure bond to build a new civil courthouse, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted on Tuesday to effectively reboot the process that had been more than 15 years in the making. The 4-0 vote, with Commissioner Ron Davis off the dais, approved a modification to the county’s […]
Posted inAustin
Zimmerman, Troxclair resurrect failed proposal for civil courthouse
Two Austin City Council members are renewing an effort to persuade Travis County to build a new civil courthouse in the so-called “Eastern Crescent.” The day after voters narrowly rejected the county’s $287 million bond to build the facility in downtown Austin, Council Member Don Zimmerman posted to the City Council Message Board a modified version of […]
Posted inElections
Travis County voters reject civil courthouse bonds
It was a tight match all night long, but in the end, Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond fell with a stiff punch in the gut. After several tense hours that at one extended point saw support for the bond proposal holding a tenuous but growing lead, the final, unofficial count […]
Posted inElections
Travis County committed to downtown courthouse
The downtown block at the center of Travis County’s proposed Civil & Family Courts Complex proposal won’t necessarily be freed up for private development if voters reject the $287 million bond today. Opposition to the proposal has sprouted from downtown advocates, including the Real Estate Council of Austin, which argues that dedicating a large portion […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: TravCo courthouse debate
Travis County Pct. 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea and Travis County Taxpayers Union representative Roger Falk join Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to debate the question of whether or not to fund the construction of a new Travis County Civil and Family Courthouse. The show is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/231067489″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]