Austin Transit Partnership voted to renew its current downtown Austin office lease, as well as expand into larger space next door, which ATP officials say will help support the agency's expected growth.
The ATP board approved the leases during its Sept. 21 meeting.
Remember this?
In April, the ATP board postponed voting on a $32 million contract to lease 51,600 square feet of office space at the 100 Congress building, as well as another $15 million contract for building finish-out and improvements.
Mayor Kirk Watson and ATP Board Chair Veronica Castro de Barrera both said the agency needed more time to analyze other cost-effective options.
The update
The board approved a $13.5 million agreement to lease office space for 48 months at 203 Colorado St.—the agency's current office—as well as space next door at 201 Colorado St.
The combined office space will total 54,000 square feet, which ATP officials said will help as the agency anticipates growing from about 200 staff to 280 over the next several years as Project Connect plans move forward.
The new space will also allow for co-location of the agency's contractors, consultants and other partners including CapMetro and the city of Austin., said Alex Gale, ATP senior vice president of real estate and facilities. Gale said ATP anticipates saving up to $50,000 a month by no longer needing to lease space for contractors.
The board also approved a $6 million agreement for building finish-out and improvements of the new office space, and another $400,000 agreement in order to extend the current lease through February 2027.
What they're saying
ATP officials said the leases help achieve the agency's "stewardship objectives" of finding a more cost-effective space for the office expansion, as opposed to earlier discussions.
"What changed from April to today is this opportunity [to stay] did not exist at that time," Gale said. "In May, the option to stay here came forward, and really looking at that cost-effective plan really brought this to the forefront—to stay here and expand into the space next door."
Watson, who previously voiced opposition to the proposed $32 million lease and $15 million buildout, said the new agreements not only take into account ATP's personnel needs, but other entities that will be needed to deliver the light rail project.
"It does it while taking into consideration the potential future cost constraints unique to Austin Light Rail," Watson said. "It is a considerably smaller commitment than what was first proposed, and it gets us there without the long-term downtown commitment. ... [The lease] is less expensive and has less time. I will reiterate: cost will always be there on this project, and just because someone sees a cost, does not immediately make that cost wrong."
What else?
Additional Austin Light Rail contracts were approved during the meeting, including $122 million for design and construction services for the first portion of Phase 1B, and $44 million for design and construction services for the light rail operations and maintenance facility.
