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Originally Posted by ILUVSAT
Potentially. However, the land under that parking lot is private, correct? The transit authority would have to buy or lease it to use it. I'm not sure how that would work.
They could lease the land and use it for staging the construction of the tunnel. And, if that's the case, The Republic would be delayed for years. Another idea would be to co-op construction - similar to what they've done in other cities where new rail/subways are constructed underneath new towers.
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The land is still owned by Travis County, but Lincoln has a ground lease on it. Lincoln is paying a pretty penny for the ground lease over time, so it is in their interest to move forward and earn income on their investment. However, I don't know all the details of the lease. IIRC, the lease rate is fairly nominal initially with steep escalators in following years. There may also be triggers - Lincoln may not have much in the way of lease expense until it is fully permitted or issued a certificate of occupancy. On the other side, there may be a cancellation clause if they do not make progress by a certain date, allowing Travis County to regain control of the property.