City seeks bids for former Albertsons building on Austin Avenue

The City of Georgetown is seeking bids on the former Albertsons grocery store building located at 610 N. Austin Ave. Sealed bids are due by 2 p.m. May 4.

Georgetown Economic Development Director Mark Thomas said the city would be interested in a specialty grocer or other big-box retailer that could take up the entire 56,331-square-foot building.

"There have been different kinds of retailers interested over time [in the building]," Thomas said. "A grocer [would be a good fit] only because the building lends itself to being a grocery store physically. It was designed to be a grocery store."

The bid invitation and related documents are available on the city's website at www.purchasing.georgetown.org.

930-3647, [email protected]

Watering restrictions eased

The City of Georgetown has lifted the twice-weekly water restrictions after rains filled Lake Georgetown on March 20 from 778 feet above sea level to 790 feet. The lake is considered full at 791 feet above sea level.

Water customers are asked to limit watering to three times each week. Watering is prohibited on Mondays and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day.

Watering with a hand-held hose or bucket is allowed at anytime. Violations of the restrictions could result in a fine. Water restrictions are expected to remain in place through Sept. 30, according to a news release from the city.

Odd-numbered addresses water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and even-numbered addresses water Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.930-3555, www.water.georgetown.org

ThunderCloud Subs approved to come to downtown Georgetown

Georgetown City Council approved a motion March 13 to accept a bid from Austin sub sandwich shop ThunderCloud Subs for the fire station bay building at 816 S. Main St.

The motion to accept the bid came out of a closed session, and the contract amount was not given. The city announced Feb. 13 it planned to sell the 3,000-square-foot building and that bids starting at $216,000 would be accepted until March 1.

City Manager Paul Brandenburg said there will be a due-diligence period before the contract is final.

The historic Fire Headquarters building, located next door at 103 W. Ninth St., was not included in the sale. Arts groups have indicated an interest in using the first floor of the building as a public art center.

Other City Council actions

Council will host a public workshop May 8 to discuss what effects the city being labeled as part of the Austin urban area by the U.S. Census Bureau could have on public transportation. The Census Bureau released the designations in March.