Tovo's shift clears way to expand convention center

What many expected to be among Austin’s biggest political battles of 2019 — whether to expand the convention center — might end in a surprising agreement this week.

Buried near the end of a 23-page resolution from City Council Member Kathie Tovo that concerns the preservation of the nearby historic Palm School is an unequivocal statement. It declares that the council “desires to begin the process to expand the Austin Convention Center.”

The resolution then instructs staff members to move forward on the most expensive expansion scenario outlined in a University of Texas architectural study unveiled earlier this year, an option that comes with an estimated cost of some $1.15 billion. Tovo said she would support only that option, known as Scenario 5, which involves a phased demolition and rebuilding on the existing convention center site, in addition to expanding it.

The move represents an abrupt political shift for Tovo, whose district encompasses the facility and who, until recently, was among those who questioned the idea of an expansion. She faced attack ads from the Austin Hotel & Lodging Association ahead of her reelection in November, when she wouldn’t commit to supporting the idea. (Representatives of the association did not return phone calls then or Monday.)

BACKGROUND: UT report outlines convention center expansion pros, cons

On Monday, Tovo said the UT study persuaded her to back the project. The study outlined how the city could pair an expansion of the convention center with a tear-down of the existing facility to consolidate a six-block footprint and orient it to better front Waller Creek.

“I was very excited when I saw the UT study (options) … removing some of the pieces to create a better interaction with Waller Creek and the Palm School,” she said. “That is in part why I support the expansion, because of its ability to meet some of the challenges in that area.”

How the expansion would come together financially is unclear. The resolution asks staff members to analyze and recommend a financing plan. Tovo called the resolution an effort to look at how various efforts within the area can tie together — from the convention center and nearby development to a new park along Waller Creek and the city’s desire to preserve the historic school.

Travis County owns the Palm School, near Interstate 35 and Cesar Chavez Street, which served as a largely Latino elementary school for 84 years before closing in 1976. Travis County officials have debated selling the valuable downtown property but have met outcry from historic preservationists and Mexican American advocates.

The proposed resolution “urges Travis County not to sell the Palm School” and asks city staffers to negotiate to make it a public space. It calls for making the school, the convention center and other projects in southeast downtown part of a singular planning process.

Bill Bunch, executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance and a vocal critic of the convention center, called the resolution “kind of wild.”

“You go from $20 million (estimated value of the Palm School) after 10 pages to $1.2 billion (estimated value of the convention center expansion) on page 20-something,” he said. “It definitely seems full speed ahead, and yet there’s been no due diligence of whether this is a worthwhile expenditure.”

Tovo said the resolution is just the start of a process that will include opportunities for the public to learn more details and additional council votes to continue it or scrap it.

RELATED: As Adler talks of mandate, what comes next for Austin?

Expanding the convention center was the crux of a complicated “Downtown Puzzle” plan that Mayor Steve Adler unveiled in 2017. With an expansion, he said, hoteliers would agree to levy additional taxes on their guests downtown, which could fund other projects, including assistance for the homeless. Several council members were skeptical, and the idea faded, pending the UT study, until after Adler’s reelection last fall.

On Monday, Adler said the additional information in the study led to newfound support for the plan.

“The community is getting answers to questions asked,” he said. “The answers are coming in. It was something I talked about a lot during the election, and I think the community has indicated a desire to expand the convention center.”

Longtime political consultant David Butts worked for both Adler and Tovo in their election campaigns and has been involved in elections to expand the current convention center. Despite that history, Butts questions how much convention center expansions contribute to overall tourism.

He noted that Tovo has been at the forefront of efforts to shift slightly larger amounts of hotel occupancy taxes — about 70% of which go to the convention center — to historic and park projects. He also noted that council dynamics shifted when two new members — District 1 representative Natasha Harper-Madison and District 8’s Paige Ellis — took office in January.

“That may have shifted the balance of power,” Butts said. “I can assume that there’s been some kind of compromise reached, either based on what’s best for the city, or based on what (Tovo) can get, if (the expansion) is going to happen anyway.”

Expansive plans

Phase 1

• Adds 545,000 square feet; costs the city $725 million; generates $30 million in private development.

• Existing convention center remains in operation during construction.

• Consolidation of western parcels into one large parcel.

• Pedestrian extension to Second and Third streets.

• Retail along principal streets.

• Below-grade service and parking.

• Semipublic park on roof.

Phase 2

• Adds an additional 515,000 square feet; costs the city $1.15 billion; generates $485 million in private development.

• New pedestrian promenade at Neches Street.

• Convention center has new orientation toward the Waller Creek Corridor.

• One block for new public event space.

• One block for public-private partnership opportunity.

• New public pavilion on the park.

• Below-grade service and parking.

Note: Details taken from report compiled for the city of Austin by the Center for Sustainable Development at the University of Texas School of Architecture