Marble Falls seeks new visitors center

MARBLE FALLS, Texas (KXAN) - Blink and you could miss the Marble Falls visitors center on U.S. Highway 281 just south of Ranch Road 1431.

The welcoming center is inside a historic train depot that  that is more than 100 years old and is about as big as a shed. The depot was relocated to the roadside in 1977.

City council members want to make sure tourists and other people passing through the city of Marble Falls -- which is located 47 miles northwest of Austin and 85 miles north of San Antonio -- are greeted by a bigger building.

A conceptual design was presented to city leaders by architect David L. Rowland Jr. in early March.

Plans call for a 4,400-square-foot center just south of the Bluebonnet Cafe along the east side of Hwy. 281.  The three-story building will also be triangular in shape.

Construction should begin by year's end, but the city still needs to figure out how to fund the new building.

Discussions included the idea of having the Economic Development Corporation couple with the city to help with cost.

As for the train depot, it will be repurposed and stay in the same location.