Federal Courthouse Finally Breaks Ground
From a stage erected on a block of San Antonio Street downtown that will now be closed permanently to vehicles, a string of dignitaries paid tribute Wednesday to the ideals of justice, to Austin and to jump-starting the local economy at a groundbreaking ceremony for the city's new federal courthouse.
"Throughout history, the rule of law and the ability to provide justice under the law are the hallmarks of great civilizations," said U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio. "Austin is a world-class city. ... Austin will soon have a world-class federal courthouse."
The more than $100 million building was funded this year under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The eight-story building will house the federal district and magistrate courts that are currently in the U.S. Courthouse on West Eighth Street. Other federal support agencies that do not fit in that historical building, such as the probation department, also will move into the new building.
Construction is expected to begin this month and be completed in three years.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, who with U.S. Magistrate Judge Andy Austin has spearheaded the planning, along with members of the federal General Services Administration, said the current courthouse — built in the 1930s — has outlived its usefulness.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, noted that when he was a federal prosecutor working in the current courthouse, he saw jurors and prisoners taking the same elevator.
"That's really unacceptable," he said.
Yeakel said that planning for the new courthouse began more than eight years ago. In 2002, federal officials caused a stir when they said they were considering three downtown lots for the building, including the site of the Austin Children's Museum and a lot planned to house a new Austin Museum of Art building.
Local officials and public outcry eventually steered them to the lot across from Republic Square Park where the unfinished Intel Corp. building stood as a reminder of the technology bust. In 2003, $13.8 million was approved for site acquisition and planning. Officials had hoped construction would begin in 2005, but funding for construction never came.
That year, though, the federal budget included $3 million toward demolition and site preparation, and in February 2007, Austin celebrated the downing of what had become known as the "Intel shell."
To the dismay of local federal judges who continued to work on planning the building while managing their dockets, funding never came in 2008 — or this year. But when the economy plummeted and federal officials began asking for "shovel ready projects" to add to an economic stimulus package pushed by President Barack Obama, local officials pointed to the Austin project.
In late March, the White House approved using federal stimulus money to pay for the courthouse.
In July, officials inked a $102 million contract with general contractor White Construction, which has offices in Mississippi and Austin. White recently built the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas.
A General Services Administration spokeswoman did not have an estimate of how many jobs would be created. McCaul said the courthouse project will be "a boon to the Austin economy."
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, estimated that over the course of construction, the project would mean "a couple of thousand jobs."
The eight-story, 252,420-square-foot building will be energy-efficient, making extensive use of natural light and capturing rainwater for irrigation. It will have eight courtrooms and chambers for 10 judges.Doggett drew upon the writings of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in summarizing the day.
"Justice Holmes once wrote, 'The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand but what direction we are moving,' " Doggett said. "Today, we are moving forward. We are not just building a courthouse; we are building the latest addition to what makes our city so special."
skreytak@statesman.com; 912-2946