The City of Austin will create a new combined public safety headquarters in a historic move that would put all its first responders under one roof.
On Thursday, the city council approved spending $120 million to purchase and renovate a building to house Austin Fire, Austin Police and Austin-Travis County EMS.
The nearly 400,000-square foot building is located at the corner of Barton Skyway and South Mopac Expressway just south of Zilker Park.
The purchase price of the building is $107.6 million with another $13 million for design and renovations. The city will use certificates of obligation, which is a long-term loan that does not need voter approval, to buy the building.
Mayor Kirk Watson said the opportunity allows the city to improve working conditions for public safety staff and increases collaboration and efficiency.
Currently, the city’s three public safety agencies are spread across several facilities that city officials say range between 54 and 64 years old. Most of those buildings are in need of extensive and costly repairs, including cracked walls and ceilings, wastewater breaks and leaks and faulty foundation.
Watson said this is a long-term and valuable investment for the city.
“This is a cost effective, efficient and more sustainable solution compared to leasing or constructing new buildings or trying to remodel and fix the current headquarters,” Watson said in a press conference earlier this month.
Public safety leaders said this is a huge step forward citing opportunities to enhance communication and coordination during emergencies.
“The facility will also serve as a physical representation of city leadership’s ongoing commitment to public safety to ensure it meets the needs of all who live, work and play here,” said Rob Vires, an assistant chief with the Austin Fire Department.
City officials said these joint efforts will also create a shared space that supports training, streamlines information sharing, and promotes a cohesive operational strategy, leading to improved service and stronger public safety outcomes.
Some members of the community, however, are against the purchase, citing poor location, high costs and lack of transparency. Several people signed up to speak against the purchase Thursday, but by the time council called up the item around 8 p.m., most people had left.
Bobby Levinski with environmental nonprofit Save Our Springs Alliance spoke late Thursday evening.
"Where is the money coming from?" he said. "There is no transparency with this item and no fiscal analysis... And this site has no access."
Now that the plan has council’s approval, it will now take some time to design and renovate the building so it meets the city’s needs.
That includes a push for energy efficient additions, including solar panel installation, that Council Member Alison Alter lead Thursday.
During a public safety committee meeting earlier this month, Kimberly Olivares, the city’s deputy chief financial officer, said the design phase alone is about six months.
“I don't want to speculate on the timeline for finish out until we’ve been able to go through that process,” she said. “We want to move as quickly as possible and there are certain floors that are already completely empty, so it's not like we can’t start work in various areas.”
There are existing tenants working in the building. City officials said the city is working with the tenants to get them moved out of space.