Posting Language
Title
Authorize negotiation and execution of an amendment to the encroachment agreement with Manchester Texas Financial Group, LLC, to permit the temporary closure of an overhead pedestrian bridge during the Austin Convention Center Redevelopment and Expansion Project. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.
De
Lead Department
Austin Convention Center.
Fiscal Note
There is no fiscal impact.
Prior Council Action:
October 1, 2015- Council authorized negotiation and execution of an agreement with Manchester Texas Financial Group, LLC for an encroachment agreement over Red River for an overhead pedestrian bridge.
Additional Backup Information:
The City of Austin has grown rapidly into a top ten preferred convention destination since opening the Austin Convention Center in 1992 and its expansion in 2002. However, the existing Convention Center has insufficient space to accommodate the growth in event demand at the Center. The facility itself creates a barrier between east and west, with no ground-level interaction for the local community and visitors. Therefore, with the support of Council, Austin Convention Center Department embarked on the Austin Convention Center Redevelopment and Expansion Project (“Project”) to provide a larger, more efficient facility on a smaller footprint that will be a more active and community-friendly event space in the heart of Downtown Austin.
In 2015, the City entered into an encroachment agreement with Manchester Texas Financial Group, LLC (“Manchester”) for the construction, operation, and maintenance of and overhead pedestrian bridge that currently connects the Fairmont Hotel to Austin Convention Center property and provides public pedestrian access across Red River and Waller Creek parkland.
This item request authorization to negotiate and execute an amendment to the existing encroachment agreement with Manchester to permit the closure of the overhead pedestrian bridge during the construction phases of the Project. The existing agreement requires Manchester to maintain the bridge as open to the public during certain operating hours. However, the planned construction activities related to the Project will require the temporary closure of the overhead pedestrian bridge. While the existing agreement permits temporary closures related to bridge maintenance, it does not explicitly allow for temporary closures related to construction of adjacent facilities. The amendment will address this scenario.