Several city-owned facilities around Austin are in line for tens of millions of dollars of renovations before reopening as new public safety and office complexes.

The overview

Austin officials on March 6 authorized $43.22 million for improvements at three properties acquired by the city last year. They include:
  • The former Tokyo Electron campus in Southeast Austin purchased for nearly $60 million as part of an overall $87 million land deal
  • A 14.47-acre warehouse property southeast of Austin purchased for $45.95 million
  • The planned joint public safety headquarters off MoPac near downtown that'll house the Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services the city moved to buy for $107.89 million


The southeastern warehouse site on McAngus Lane is getting the bulk of the new funding, with $32.47 million allocated to improve spaces that'll be used by the AFD, ATCEMS, Forensic Science Department, and Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The combined public safety campus is getting an additional $9.75 million to build out the police, fire and EMS facility. And the city will spend $1 million to ready the Tokyo Electron site on Grove Boulevard for Austin Public Health and information security offices.


The upgrades are funded through the city's building and finance departments.

Zooming in

That Grove site will be the first to house city staff, with move-in expected this summer, Financial Services Department spokesperson Kimberly Moore said. Work there will include space planning, information technology and furniture additions and other building improvements.

The city will be soliciting for design services at the other two properties in March. Construction at the McAngus Lane site, now an empty shell warehouse, will add office and evidence storage facilities, and is expected to wrap up in fall 2026.
Office and warehouse space in Southeast Austin is being renovated as a new city facility. (Courtesy city of Austin)
Office and warehouse space in Southeast Austin is being renovated as a new city facility. (Courtesy city of Austin)
A timeline for the APD, AFD and ATCEMS headquarters isn't yet set. The current office buildings require security upgrades as well as general improvements alongside new furniture and equipment, Moore said.


Once open, the MoPac property will be a central administrative hub for those public safety departments that currently have offices spread around downtown and the city. The McAngus Lane site will serve AFD and EMS warehousing needs, relocating from the departments' current space off US 183
An office complex off MoPac will be renovated to serve as the city's new joint public safety headquarters. (Courtesy Brandywine Realty Trust, city of Austin)
An office complex off MoPac will be renovated to serve as the city's new joint public safety headquarters. (Courtesy Brandywine Realty Trust, city of Austin)
Another detail

The city has been collecting some revenue from current tenants as it readies its future spaces.

Austin has received $5.02 million in rent from Tokyo Electron and $4.22 million from leases at MoPac since buying those properties, Moore said. Tokyo Electron's lease extension option expires in June while the city is working with MoPac tenants on move-out plans.

In other news


While the long-anticipated joint public safety campus moves closer to opening, the outlook for an expansion of Austin's police, fire and medical training center is undetermined for now.

Council signed off on the $2.24 million purchase of land across the street from the training facility last year for a proposed expansion. No specific plans for that project were set at the time.

Moore previously said the city would launch a feasibility study to figure out the best use for the land, but that work is now on hold. The study and possible campus expansion have been halted as facility improvements are now being considered for next year's likely bond package, she said.