Photos Top Left: Groundbreaking Ceremony March 2023, Texas Facilities Commission Leadership: Deputy Executive Director John Raff, Commissioner Eddy Betancourt, Commissioner Brian Bailey, Chairman Steven D. Alvis (retired), Commissioner C. Price Wagner, Executive Director Mike Novak, and Commissioner William Allensworth (retired).
Top Right: Flag Ceremony to decommission the Texas Department of Public Safety Capitol Region District Office, April 2023.
Bottom Left: Installation of the first tower crane on the 1501 Lavaca site, February 2024.
Bottom Right: Finishing excavation on the 1500 Congress site and beginning the foundation on 1501 Lavaca, May 2024.
The Capitol Complex Project’s Phase II construction officially started with a groundbreaking ceremony in March 2023. The last year has been packed with activity and progress. As with all projects, there have been challenges and new discoveries along the way, and we would like to take a look back and celebrate a few of the project’s achievements to date.
Location, Location, Location
Phase II of the Capitol Complex is located on 15th Street between Lavaca Street and Congress Avenue, directly across from the State Capitol. Planning construction across three separate but adjacent sites along a main arterial street in the heart of downtown Austin presented logistical challenges. Maintaining public safety and keeping the traffic flowing were the primary non-negotiables of the plan.
The project team developed a traffic management plan that considered the delivery of equipment and materials to the construction sites in relation to peak traffic times and local events, including the UT football schedule that brings thousands of visitors into the downtown area every weekend during football season.
One lane of 15th Street, adjacent to the project site, was closed for the project’s duration. The project team installed barricades on the lane to create a dedicated construction entrance for trucks delivering equipment and materials. All the sidewalks adjacent to the construction sites were closed, and TFC distributed a pedestrian route map to help visitors safely travel around the project site. An enclosed pedestrian walkway was constructed on the east side of the project to provide easy access for pedestrians traveling from the Texas Capitol Mall to the State Capitol.
A dedicated project team member coordinates the delivery of all materials and equipment to the site, communicating directly with the trucking companies and drivers on schedules and designated routes through the City of Austin to the project site.
The Phase II Travel Map is posted on the project website to provide the traveling public with safe travel routes around the construction area. Download the map here.
Being a Good Neighbor
The pedestrian walkway on the east side of the project provides easy access for visitors traveling north and south in the Capitol Complex.
Building in a dense urban environment requires doing everything possible to minimize disruption to the surrounding businesses, organizations, and residents. Before the start of construction, TFC and the project team held public meetings to inform the surrounding community about the project.
Throughout construction, the project team is maintaining a strict construction schedule with strategies to reduce noise levels on the sites, including testing decibel levels on equipment. During dry weather, the project team sprays water on the site to minimize dust in the surrounding area. When after-hours work is necessary, such as concrete pours, the project team has a notification protocol to inform the surrounding neighborhood about the activity and its duration. This protocol is also used for notifications about street closures and other activities that might disrupt normal neighborhood functions. TFC also maintains a construction website, www.TexasCapitolComplex.org, and distributes regular social media posts to help keep the public informed about the project.
A Historic District
There are three existing historic buildings to the north of the site. The project is within five feet of these structures. These buildings are impacted by what happens on the project every day.
To address the sensitivity of the surrounding buildings, TFC engaged a geo-instruments company that also worked on the Phase I project to monitor the historic buildings and help identify any possible impacts the construction will have on them. A great example of this effort is the installation of tilt and vibration monitors at the Gethsemane Church. Our excavation is literally at the facility’s front door; therefore, a strict monitoring and tolerance program was established. As our excavation has progressed, there have been multiple check-in points with the Texas Historical Commission and Robert E. Johnson’s building operations staff to ensure the construction impacts are as minimal as possible.
It is not every day that a project is part of a historic event. However, in April 2023, the project team had the honor of working with the Texas Department of Public Safety to decommission the Capitol Region District Office on the Congress site. This building played a significant role in the agency and demanded the respect of a decommissioning ceremony before removing the building from the site. This special event allowed former staff to have closure with the end of life for the building and participate in formally removing the United States flag for the last time.
Pre-World War II Infrastructure
The Phase II project site has been home to various structures for over 130 years. Residential homes, a grocery store, a blacksmith shop, automotive stations, apartments, and a furniture warehouse have all occupied the site. Most recently, the Capitol Complex Child Development Center and the Texas Department of Public Safety Capitol Region District Office were located on the project site. As the buildings were torn down and replaced over time and the Capitol Complex took shape with State office buildings, the underground utility infrastructure also grew. Much of the existing infrastructure surrounding the project site hasn’t been updated since its original installation, with some dating back more than ninety years. The age of the infrastructure also creates a challenge for locating the utilities accurately and has required extensive utility relocations and upgrades. The utility improvements began during Phase One and is continuing during Phase II.
Prior to beginning the work of locating and identifying the underground infrastructure necessary to complete the project, the Texas Historical Commission evaluated the area to determine if there were any artifacts of significance on the project site. Although this evaluation extended the project timeline, and no artifacts were found, it was a necessary step to clear the project for construction.
Gethsemane Church
Identifying and Locating the Utilities
For most construction projects, the project team may have to manage one or two utility relocations, but most of the site will be open and free from construction. However, with the past development on the Phase II site and surrounding area, several active and abandoned utility lines were crossing the project site. Information on the antiquated infrastructure was challenging to find and often contradictory; however, based on the City of Austin records, the project team discovered that almost every type of utility ran through the center of the 1500 Congress building footprint, including telecommunications, storm drainage lines, and power.
The project team worked with Sunland Group and the Rios Group to physically locate the utilities through a process called potholing. This process allowed the identification of the majority of the utilities, the distance they traveled, and the depth of the utility, which is critical for the project permitting process. The team started this process early to determine the extent of improvements required before the City of Austin project approval and to help the project team avoid interference with planned routing.
According to Square One Senior Project Manager Kevin Parks, “The project has required the skill and focus of an open heart surgeon. Accurately identifying the utility locations has been extremely challenging, but the project is moving forward, and future projects in the area will benefit from this work.”
At times, the work requires temporarily closing streets and sidewalks and installing utility lines to prevent service disruption. Maintaining service means the utility improvement activities have tight schedules and are often performed after hours. The footprint of the construction site also required raising the traffic signal at Lavaca Street and 15th Street to improve visibility at the intersection.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used to document the project infrastructure improvements for future maintenance and growth. Extensive work has been underway for months to perform the utility relocations and upgrades necessary for the project.
Keeping All Stakeholders in the Loop
A plat record from 1935 depicts a filling station and other structures on the project site.
The project team has implemented an extensive communication plan to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of current construction activities and activities planned in the near future. The team begins coordination with all the project stakeholder entities long before the work begins. Stakeholders included in the utility relocation activities include ATT, Spectrum, the City of Austin, Austin Energy, Austin Water, Land Management, and representatives from all the buildings that surround the project. Meeting with the project stakeholders provides the transparent communication and collaboration necessary for the completion of this critical work and ensures that the needs of the project and stakeholders are addressed.
Balancing Efforts
The Phase II project is massive, with three sites on approximately two and a half blocks. Hundreds of people are working on it, and this number will grow to thousands before the project finishes. Balancing the project’s needs with the ideas, perspectives, and needs of all the project stakeholders is complex.
The project team approaches the complexity of Phase II through collaboration and respect while working as one team and staying focused on TFC’s mandate for the Capitol Complex Project.
Our Mandate
The Capitol Complex Project centralizes all state agencies previously located in leased spaces throughout Austin.
Consolidating all state agencies within the Capitol Complex creates the potential to maximize operational efficiencies between and within the agencies, offers visitors easier access to agency offices, and eliminates the cost of leased space for these offices.
“We have made swift progress towards our end goal. We have learned from Phase I and are implementing those improvements in this project to save time and money,” said TFC Project Manager Jay Franklin.
Congratulations to everyone working on the Capitol Complex Phase II project on a successful first year.
At the beginning of the project, preparing for demolition, March 2023.
Excavation nearing completion, May 2024.
