Project History

Travis County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a New Courts Facility on February 23, 2018. Proposals were due and received on April 9, 2018. On July 10, 2018, Travis County entered exclusive negotiations with one respondent, Hunt Companies, for a new courts facility to be located at 1700 Guadalupe Street.

The Community Advisory Committee was formed to act as a sounding board for the Commissioners Court, Strategic Resource Planning staff and the AECOM Project Team during the evaluation of site options and concept discussion related to the development of additional capacity for the Civil and Family Court System. Participation in an evaluative process through objective and collaborative discussions to instill confidence in the soundness of the advice and options proposed for the Commissioners Court and the residents of Travis County. Areas of focus or interest for members serving on the Committee include at least the following:

• Accessibility
• Mobility
• Public space
• Aesthetics
• Usability
• Sustainability
• Affordability
• Cost effectiveness and efficiency
• Social and economic impact
• Security of the residents of Travis County

Meetings

• Meeting #1 - 03/31/16
• Meeting # 1 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting #2 - 04/13/16
• Meeting # 2 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting #3 - 05/04/16
• Meeting # 3 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting # 4 - 05/18/16
• Meeting # 4 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting # 5 - 06/01/16
• Meeting # 5 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting # 6 - 06/15/16
• Meeting # 6 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting # 7 - 07/13/16
• Meeting # 7 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting #8 - 08/03/16
• Meeting # 8 Motions and Action Items
  
• Meeting # 9 - 09/07/16
• Meeting # 10 - 10/05/2016
• Meeting # 10 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting # 11 - 11/02/2016
• Meeting # 11 Motions and Action Items
• Meeting # 12 - 12/07/16
• Meeting # 12 Motions and Action Items

Other Documents

• Cost Register Notes
• Downtown Development and Capitol View Corridors
• Implementing Collegial Chambers Courtroom Sharing
• Judicial Facility Design Issues
• Judicial Forecast and Projections
• Preparation of Application for Federal Courthouse
• Trends in Courthouse Design
• Ways to Buy Land

Videos

Community Advisory Committee Members

• Shahin Alvi
• James Bradbury, PLLC
• Savy Buoy
• Socar Chatmon-Thomas
• Barbara Ciley
• Rick Cofer
• Judy Cortez
• David Courreges
• Martha Dickie
• Patricia Dixon
• Scott Dukette
• Bryan Hardeman
• Kendel Martin
• Herbert Martinez
• Lou McCreary
• Richard Moya
• Stephen Nagle
• Dewitt M. Peart
• Patricia Ramirez
• Clark Richards
• Ken Rigsbee, P.E., retired
• Rosa Rios Valdez
• Julia Spann
• Robert Thomas
• Ward Tisdale
• Salvador Valdez
• Robert Wright

• January – Commissioners Court votes unanimously to move referendum date to November
• November – Bond Referendum was held but it did not pass

• January - Commissioners Court unanimously approved the creation of a Community Focus Committee (CFC), the orientation of the proposed new Civil & Family Courts Complex with respect to Republic Park, and set goal to have a bond referendum on the May 2015 ballot.
• March – HOK approved as the Independent Representative/Compliance Architect (IR/CA)
• July - Design Concept Charrettes conducted with all stakeholder groups scheduled to be located within the new facility, user groups, such as the Austin Bar Association and the CFC.
• August – Feedback from Design Concept Charrettes incorporated to create a single, consolidated concept.
• October – The consolidated concept was presented to the Commissioner Court.

• February - Travis County issued solicitation for a Program Manager/Owner’s Representative.
• March - AECOM, formally URS Corporation, was selected after an extensive interview process by both the staff interview committee and the Commissioners Court
• November – Court approved Design-Build as preferred method and AECOM’s full contract went into effect

• Central Campus Master Plan completed
• Feasibility analysis of delivery options and Value-for-Money analysis for a Travis County Civil and Family Courts building completed

• Adoption of a Space Program for the Civil and Family Courts building by Commissioners Court

• Needs Assessment completed
• Adoption of Space Program by Commissioners Court
• Site purchased for the new Civil & Family Courts Complex

Needs Assessment

In 2009, a Central Campus Needs Assessment was initiated by Travis County to understand what space would be required to house the staff and services needed to adequately serve residents from 2009, to 2035. The effort, completed in 2010, indicated a significant space deficiency then, and that space shortage would only be exacerbated by the projected County growth in upcoming years. Led by Austin firm Broaddus & Associates, the Needs Assessment findings included:

• Quality of work environment in many departments and offices did not enable optimal staff performance
• Lack of available and appropriately sized meeting spaces
• Inefficient departmental layouts
• Lack of natural lighting
• Insufficient security
• Inadequate storage capacity
• 50% more space needed to accommodate existing services
• 130% more space would be needed over the next twenty-five years in order to accommodate projected staff growth

A Visioning Session with County leadership, held in June 2009, yielded a set of Guiding Principles that provided a basis for project development. A series of intensive site visits and stakeholder interviews followed the introductory session and provided baseline information for both functional assessments and staffing projections.

Analyses of population growth, historical staffing growth, and historical caseload growth were completed. Throughout the Needs Assessment, regular meetings with the County Project Management team, the Steering Committee, various Sub-Committees and the Commissioners Court provided feedback and direction.

Needs Assessment Report included the following:

• Functional and Operational Assessment
• Strategic Growth Plan
• Space Assessment
• Space Standards
• Functional and Operational Assessment for Security Operations

Central Campus Master Plan

At the completion of the Needs Assessment, it was clear that the County would need to take deliberate steps to both increase and improve its Central Campus facilities over the next several years to accommodate County services.

The Central Campus Master Plan established a strategic plan for the facilities development required to accommodate the civil and criminal justice system and several general government functions through and beyond the 2035 planning horizon.

• A new Civil & Family Courts Complex
• Expansion of the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center
• Restoration, rehabilitation and re-occupancy of Heman Marion Sweatt Historic Courthouse
• A new Central Booking & 72-hour Housing Facility
• Office Building(s) for both Court & General Government Functions