The overview
Costing $87.9 million total, the board of directors approved the purchase of 5.8 acres and an accompanying building at 3100 E. Fifth St., Austin, and 618 Tillery St., Austin, to provide a new centralized operations hub adjacent to the organization’s existing facility at 2910 E. Fifth St., Austin.
The new building is 182,700 square feet and, according to CapMetro, will save the organization $50 million-$60 million over the next 10 years in leasing costs. CapMetro officials also said purchasing this building is cheaper than constructing a new one. Funding for this comes from the organization’s fiscal year 2022-23 capital budget.
This new administrative hub will replace CapMetro’s existing administrative facilities in Austin at 700 Lavaca St., 1000 Brazos St., 507 Calles St. and 209 W. Ninth St. A timeline for transitioning to the new facility was not established during the meeting, but leases on some of the existing facilities will expire as soon as September.
The context
CapMetro currently has around 96,000 square feet of space citywide, which is less than the organization needs, said Ken Cartwright, CapMetro’s vice president of construction and facilities.
CapMetro will need around 200,000 square feet of office space in the next 20 years due to more people returning to the workplace and future plans for service expansion, he said.
The outlook
By combining these facilities into one location, CapMetro will save on operating costs and allow for more internal coordination within the organization, according to CapMetro documents.
The new facility will also allow for:
- Improve rider experience and employee efficiency
- Help with employee recruitment
- Allow CapMetro to improve existing operations at 2910 E. Fifth St., Austin
- Enable more community engagement with an accessible location
“The thrust of this is really about CapMetro utilizing its existing assets going forward. This property here, being adjacent to [2910 E. Fifth St., Austin], is just a golden opportunity for the organization that is going to serve us for many years and probably decades to come,” said Dave Kubicek, CapMetro’s executive vice president of systems and vehicles.
