Here's an update. Click on the link below to view pictures of the area including a map and even a conceptual plan.
From the Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/news/conten.../24waller.html
Has Waller Creek Tunnel's time come?
Flood control project could move forward with city and county cost-sharing plan.
By Kate Alexander
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Waller Creek tunnel has been touted as a panacea for many of downtown Austin's development ills.
The project is expected to control flooding, improve water quality, bridge east and west, and turn a ditch into a gurgling stream for all to enjoy, Austin officials say. The clock on fulfilling all of those promises could start on Tuesday when the Travis County commissioners are scheduled to vote on a cost-sharing agreement.
Commissioners have indicated that they support the proposal, as have City Council members.
"The vision is big," said City Council Member Sheryl Cole, who has worked to revive the long-stalled project since joining the council last year.
But the vision is expensive, too. The plan to pay for the $124 million tunnel is based upon $3.7 billion worth of new development rising near the creek by 2027, up from the current property value of $170 million. The hefty price tag is one of the reasons the project has been stalled until a recent proposal by the city.
As part of a deal with Travis County, Austin assumes all the financial risk if that development does not materialize or costs rise even higher, as they have substantially since voters approved $25 million worth of bonds to build the tunnel in 1998.
Cole said it is a risk worth taking because the conditions are right — a booming economy, the downtown renaissance and the focus on high-value, dense development — and the potential benefits are great. She said the long-term property value estimate is reasonable and has been thoroughly examined by outside consultants.
Waller Creek has long been a bane for downtown boosters. They say it is ugly and unsafe and has stymied growth in the southeast portion of downtown while the rest of the central area has flourished.
The tunnel idea was hatched more than a decade ago as a way to control flooding along the creek, where as recently as January a woman was washed away in a torrent and is presumed dead.
The project aims to redirect floodwater during storms so that it does not soak the downtown land.
During storms, a wide inlet in Waterloo Park would catch floodwater and send it down a 70-foot vertical drop. The water would then flow through a subway-sized tunnel that runs to Town Lake beneath Sabine Street. It would take about six years to complete the design and construction of the project.
The tunnel would keep the water in the creek bed at a steady level below five feet and safely within the banks. Today, the water can rise more than 15 feet in some places. About 40 buildings, including the Austin Police Department, and 12 roads are susceptible to flooding during severe storms.
When the weather is dry, Town Lake water would be circulated up the tunnel and down the creek to produce a clean and constant stream.
"When we know the flooding is not a threat, the dollars are going to flow down there," said Perry Lorenz, a longtime tunnel advocate.
Lorenz and his business partner Robert Knight own three corners at Red River and Cesar Chavez streets, portions of which are in the flood plain and are prime locations for redevelopment.
Knight said all the properties in the flood plain are readily developable with or without the tunnel. But development would be easier and the final product would be enhanced by a clear flowing stream and pedestrian features.
Stubb's Bar-B-Q, which is along the creek, is planning a major expansion that would be simplified because the tunnel project would remove the property from the flood plain, said Jeff Waughtal, managing partner of Stubb's.
Waughtal said that the project is an "obvious and intelligent" endeavor because it would enhance what is already there and make the area more accessible.
Property owners along East Sixth Street are "jumping for joy" about the potential redevelopment, said Josh Allen, executive director of the Pecan Street Owners Association.
"You have the ability to make Austin an even more dynamic downtown than it already is and accentuate Austin's historic gem, which is East Sixth Street," Allen said.
The plan has inspired colorful dreams of a pedestrian-friendly corridor featuring a hip version of San Antonio's River Walk that links three city parks. Improvements also are planned in Waterloo Park and at Town Lake, where an amphitheater and floating stage would add a new music venue to the downtown scene.
"We haven't seen an amenity of this magnitude for our entire city for a long, long time," Cole said. "A downtown Austin waterway will put us on the map as a vibrant, urban city for generations to come."
The existing Waller Creek trail and other public land would ensure access to the waterway, but money for building the walkway is not part of the current financing plan nor is there a concrete plan to pay for it with private money.
But Lorenz said the lack of public money will not be an obstacle.
"You create that water amenity and the private sector is going to jump all over that," Lorenz said.
Austin has asked Travis County to create a joint tax increment financing district; much of the property tax revenue from that district would be dedicated to paying off the tunnel project's debt over 20 years.
If approved, the district would encompass the properties on either side of the creek between 12th Street and Town Lake as well as the Rainey Street area, where intense redevelopment is already under way.
Under the proposal, Travis County would put in half of its take within the district to the debt for 20 years; Austin would dedicate all of its tax revenue for the same period and still be responsible for some debt at the end of the term.
Property owners would pay the same amount of property tax to the city and county as they would without the financing district. But much of the money would go to the debt rather than the government's operating fund.
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said Austin's proposal means that the county will get the benefit of the economic development without taking any of the risk.
"We can deal with that," Biscoe said.
Laura Morrison, president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council, does not believe the financing plan is the best way to pay for the project. The landowners along the creek should bear more of the cost "since they are going to enjoy such a huge increase in value," Morrison said.
Without the tunnel, supporters say the area will never reach its development potential, so dedicating the property tax that comes from that development is justified.
"You are bringing additional tax base that you could not do in any other way," Allen said. "As all boats rise together, then everyone pays their fair share."
Prev
Linear Mode
