Construction officially starts on new Austin Convention Center
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Just weeks after South by Southwest ended, construction has already begun on the new Austin Convention Center. Austin leaders hosted an official event Thursday.
'Today is the official closure of the Austin Convention Center. We are unveiling Unconventional ATX, which is the new Austin Convention Center project,' said Trisha Tatro, director of the Austin Convention Center Department.
The city of Austin first released renderings of the new space earlier this year. City leaders say it will make the area more walkable and add green space.
'The redevelopment of the Convention Center will create a vital downtown amenity and urban connector,' said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. 'With a design that emphasizes street-level openness and accessibility, vibrant public plazas, and pedestrian-friendly pathways, this transformation will enhance connectivity and inclusivity, creating a more accessible and engaging downtown experience for residents and visitors.'
The $1.6 billion project will nearly double the rentable square footage of the existing facility, growing from 365,000 square feet to 620,000 square feet of rentable space, according to a release from the city in February.
'We took about half of our leads that we got, and we put them right in the trash can because we were either sold out or too small,' said Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Austin. 'Now we're going to be much more competitive.'
What's the deal with SXSW when the Austin Convention Center closes for reconstruction?
The project, which the city calls Unconventional ATX, is being funded through Hotel Occupancy Tax and Convention Center revenues — no property taxes are going toward the project, the city said. The convention center is expected to reopen in 2029.
According to the city, the new convention center will be the world's first zero-carbon-certified convention center (International Living Futures Institute).
The design of the center 'reimagines traditional event spaces,' a city release said. It will prioritize accessibility, flexibility, and sustainability.
$1.6B Austin Convention Center expansion to start in 2025
The design also aims to enhance connectivity with surrounding districts, including the Waterloo Greenway, Palm District, and Project Connect initiatives, the city noted. It will prioritize public access and multimodal transit by reopening Third Street for multimodal traffic and transforming Second Street into a pedestrian-friendly corridor.
'There will be retail and open green spaces for not only the community to celebrate and enjoy and partake in but also our visitors,' Tatro said.
The convention center will also showcase art installations, interactive exhibits, and artist-driven spaces that 'celebrate Austin's diverse creative community,' a release said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Roughly 1,100 applications submitted by former federal workers amid Austin hiring campaign
AUSTIN (KXAN) — President Donald Trump's promise to cut federal workforce is starting to show in the latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor, which indicated 22,000 fewer federal government jobs in the last month alone. In response to the president's letting go of some federal workforce, the city of Austin re-launched a recruitment effort its used in the past called the Get Hired campaign — this time aimed at those federal workers. 'We value public servants': Austin targeting federal staff let go by Trump administration The city said between March 21 and May 23, the duration of that campaign, the city received roughly 1,100 applications from former federal employees. Of those folks, 30 now work for the city, according to the city's human resource director, Susan Sinz. 'It is good to see that with that previous federal experience, how much we benefit from that….they understand customer service, I think they understand citizen engagement and they really understand how to be a servant leader and in our community that's what we're looking for,' Sinz said. On average, the city has 100 vacancies at any given time, though that includes everything — lifeguards, librarians, police officers — and those vacancies fluctuate greatly based on season. The city employs roughly 17,000 people, Sinz noted. Though that program targeting federal employees wrapped up late last month, Sinz hopes those folks will continue to keep their sights set on our city. 'We are excited to have them explore employment here at the city of Austin and really wish them a super long career here,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Tesla robotaxi service reportedly launching next week in Austin
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In less than a week, people might see Tesla robotaxis riding around Austin. The company reportedly planned to launch its autonomous vehicle ride hailing service Thursday, June 12. Still, a federal agency has several questions about the safety of the vehicles. Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed plans with CNBC to launch the service in Austin. How is Austin working with Tesla on its robotaxi rollout? 'We want to deliberately take it slow,' Musk said. 'I mean, we could start with 1,000 [robotaxis] 10,000 on day one, but I don't think that would be prudent. So we will start with probably 10 for a week, then increase it to 20, 30, 40.' Musk himself mentioned testing already started. Just last week, he posted on X that, 'for the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver's seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents.' The service is reportedly already available for some employees. In April, Tesla's AI account posted a video on X claiming that 'supervised ride hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin and [the] San Francisco Bay Area.' Still, some questions remain unanswered. In a letter sent to Tesla in May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked the company to explain how it plans to operate safely. Questions focused on things like: Crash reporting Complying with traffic safey laws Automated responses to emergencies NHTSA asked how the robotaxis will safely operate in low-visibility, like sun glare, fog, rain or snow. Those conditions are tied to previous accidents involving the company's driver-assistance software. KXAN reached out to see if NHTSA heard back. The agency told us its investigation remains open and that Tesla's response must be submitted by June 19. NHTSA said any updates will be posted in the investigation file online. The letter said Tesla may be fined up to $27,874 per day if the agency does not receive a prompt response, with a maximum fine of $139,356,994. Back in December 2024, KXAN confirmed Tesla was in talks with the city of Austin over its autonomous vehicle technology. A spokesperson for the Transportation and Public Works Department said Tesla reached out to the city's autonomous vehicle task force. 'The City treats each AV company that expresses interest in Austin the same, offering training opportunities and providing uniform information,' the transportation spokesperson said in an email to KXAN. KXAN received an updated statement from the department regarding those discussions. We are working with Tesla, as we work with all AV companies looking to deploy in Austin. The city treats each AV company that expresses interest in Austin the same, offering training opportunities and providing information about City right-of-way and procedures. Additionally, Austin Police recently participated in a training with Tesla vehicles that was hosted by the Texas Department of Public Safety.' City of Austin Transportation and Public Works Department KXAN reached out to Tesla directly for comment. We'll update this story if we get a response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Downtown Austin Space Activation program brings in more visitors
AUSTIN (KXAN) — More people are visiting downtown Austin. According to the Downtown Austin Alliance, foot traffic is up thanks to a program it launched a year ago. The Downtown Austin Space Activation program transforms vacant storefronts and underutilized spaces into affordable options for local creatives and small businesses to host pop-up shops and events. 'We set it up in an Airbnb style sort of format, where you could activate a space at a daily rate, because we understood that people wanted space temporarily. They wanted to do events,' said DAA Chief Impact Officer Jenell Moffett. The DAA started this last summer. Since then, it has been activated more than 500 times. 'Nonprofits that have had this space to have panel discussions and community conversations,' Moffett said. 'We've also had events where there's been kids and, you know, sort of creative spaces where youth can come.' PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Downtown Austin program fills empty storefronts with pop-ups, events Moffett called their first year pop-up focused, as they tried to get more visitors into downtown. 'We have seen foot traffic increase year over year about 10% in these activated spaces.' Jenell Moffett, Downtown Austin Alliance Chief Impact Officer The DAA said half of participating businesses have been minority-owned and more than a quarter are women-owned businesses. She said moving forward, they have goals to expand into more long-term leases. 'We had several requests for longer time,' Moffett said. 'We didn't have enough spaces to actually support that demand.' The plan is to now find additional spaces. 'Additional partners, additional coaching, additional business development tools, so that these businesses can actually have the option to stay,' Moffett said. The DAA plans to release its first ever impact report for the program during an open house on July 10. People interested in participating in the program can apply online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
