Waller Creek makeover hits next step

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A huge part of Downtown Austin is on the verge of a major makeover. For more than a decade plans have been in the works to remake the lower Waller Creek area, and now that process is one step closer to reality.

Monday, The Waller Creek Conservancy released four competing design plans to revamp the area. Now city leaders are asking for public input before they make a final decision.

The creek spans 28 acres running from Lady Bird Lake north to near The University of Texas campus. It currently has a reputation for graffiti, trash and transients living there, but now project designers hope it will become an international destination.

For the owner of Carrob's Cafe, a restaurant that sits on the creek, the change is long overdue.

"We get a lot of people that say they don't want to come in because of the way things look right now, so we are hoping they get stuff cleaned up," said Carol Mitchell, owner of the restaurant.

The project has attracted architects from around the world vying to get a shot at changing the future landscape of Austin.

"It's one of those rare opportunities where you have this urban space that be converted into an open space with a waterway and responsible development up and down the corridor," said Michael Wilt, a representative with Big Red Dog Engineering, a design team finalist.

View each of the four teams and their designs.

Finalists named include:

• CMG and Public Architecture
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and Thomas Phifer & Partners
• Turenscape and Lake|Flato Architects
• Workshop: Ken Smith Landscape Architect , Ten Eyck Landscape Architects and Rogers Marvel Architects

The creek currently sits on a floodplain, so the first step is constructing a tunnel to prevent flooding. Construction for that project is under way and will be completed in 2014.

The next step is picking a final design to transform the area.

The Waller Creek Conservancy will have the final designs on display at the following locations:

• Sept. 17-19: The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, Goldsmith Hall, 310 Inner Campus Dr., Stop B7500
• Sept. 18-30: Laguna Gloria -- AMOA-Arthouse, 3809 W. 35th Street
• Sept. 20-21: Austin City Hall, 301 W Second St.
• Sept. 22: Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, second floor lobby,1800 Congress Ave.
• Sept. 23-24: University Medical Center Brackenridge, 601 E. 15th St.
• Sept. 25-26: Blanton Museum of Art, Smith Building, 200 E. Martin Luther King Blvd.
• Sept. 27: Northwest Recreation Center, 2913 Northland Drive
• Sept. 28: Oswaldo A.B. Cantu Pan American Recreation Center, 2100 E. Third St.
• Sept. 29: Sustainable Food Center Farmers Market, Republic Square Park, 400 W. Guadalupe St.
• Sept. 30: HOPE Farmers Market, 414 Waller St.

After the public-input phase the final four teams will make a presentation to City Council, with a decision expected to be made on Oct. 18.

The entire Waller Creek project represents approximately 11 percent of Downtown Austin -- transforming 1 1/2 miles of Waller Creek.

"It'll make it a new type of destination for downtown," said Wilt. "Right now you go downtown to eat or listen to live music or a very limited amount of activities, but this will allow people to come in to enjoy vibrant green space."

The transformation has Carrob's Cafe hoping the green space will bring big bucks once it's complete.

"It's really exciting for us because with all the changes that are coming it should bring a lot of people our way," said Mitchell.

For Wilkes, it's an opportunity to take the city of Austin to the next level.

"It puts us on the map as a world-class city," said Wilkes. "It's just another way to reaffirm us as a city that's going from being a teenager to an adult."