Travis County presses city for land swap, hotel tax money to renovate Expo Center

County wants city to hand over portion of the revenue by January 2022

Travis County is moving forward with plans to redevelop the dilapidated Travis County Exposition Center in East Austin, pressing the city this week to make commitments that will accelerate that process.

On Nov. 5, voters threw widespread support behind a proposition that will allow the county to obtain a portion of hotel occupancy tax revenue to renovate the Expo Center, located at 7311 Decker Lane.

The hotel tax money currently is being used by the city of Austin to pay down debt on its previous expansion of the Austin Convention Center. The city has said it’s unsure when that money will be freed up but estimated it could be as early as 2024 or as late as 2029.

In a letter sent Monday to Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt asked the city to commit to handing over that portion of hotel tax money much earlier — by January 2022.

She also asked the city to commit to swapping the land it owns under the expo center for the county-owned Palm School property, located at the corner of Interstate 35 and Cesar Chavez Street.

Eckhardt made a similar request four months ago, which went unanswered.

The county is now asking the city to respond by Dec. 16 with the exact date when it will hand over the hotel money and its response to the proposed property swap.

Eckhardt said this would allow the county to keep on a timeline to begin renovating the Expo Center by 2023, delivering on a promise to voters to provide an upgraded events space in the county’s often-ignored eastern side.

"This goal will meet the community’s expectations for decisive action on this place-making endeavor,” Eckhardt wrote in the letter.

County officials have estimated the Palm School property, which sits next to the Austin Convention Center, is worth more than $50 million, even with restrictive covenants it recently placed on the site that would require any future owner to renovate the historic school and maintain it in perpetuity. The county is offering to swap the property for the land it currently leases under the expo center at no cost.

The county also has expressed interest in obtaining the city-owned land at Red River and 13th streets — the site of the HealthSouth building — to expand mental health services.

Eckhardt said in the letter she would accept this trade or possibly others of equal value that the city proposes, including flood control investment and utility infrastructure, for Palm School. The city has not responded to Eckhardt’s letter.

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