The big picture
On Oct. 24, council members signed off on the $120.5 million purchase and rehabilitation of the buildings off MoPac that will become the joint headquarters. On Nov. 21, they'll vote on spending $2.24 million to buy land near the city's existing public safety training center in Southeast Austin.
The training campus is located off McKinney Falls Parkway at 4200 Shaw Lane, Austin, and is surrounded by dozens of acres of city-owned property north of Onion Creek. The new property potentially to be purchased is across the street at 4416 Shaw Lane, Austin, and includes 4.66 acres of undeveloped land. It's been marketed for future development by brokerage firm DMRE.
The land's publicly appraised value is $355,329. According to the city, an independent, third-party appraisal supported the proposed $2.23 million price tag, which comes with estimated closing costs totaling several thousand dollars.
As with the Southwest Austin offices, future city debt would be used for funding to spread the cost over time, "ensuring intergenerational equity," said Kimberly Moore, a spokesperson for the city's financial services department. The purchase could be completed by January, she said.
Zooming in
The purchase would support operations at the training center that's used by the Austin Fire Department, Austin Police Department and Austin/Travis County EMS, according to the city.
Austin has been planning to expand the public safety campus since 2012, Moore said. The city first targeted the Shaw Lane property last October when it was listed for sale.
It remains to be seen how the new land will connect to the campus or what it'd eventually be used for. None of the surrounding city-owned property would be used for an expansion project, Moore said.
"Each agency has specific constraints and requirements, such as additional classrooms, spaces for [Special Weapons and Tactics] training and defensive tactics, AFD drill areas, parking, and improved amenities," she said in an email. "Following acquisition of the property, staff will work with the public safety departments to prioritize their needs and develop a site plan for the property."
The property is owned by 4416 Shaw Lane Ltd., a limited company whose registered agent is Bryce Miller, managing principal at Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group. In the past two years, Miller has donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of a majority of City Council, including Mayor Kirk Watson and council members Vanessa Fuentes, Chito Vela, Ryan Alter, Mackenzie Kelly and Zo Qadri.
