Cost estimates more than double to replace failing Austin arts center building

Taylor Girtman
·4 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The cost to replace Austin’s Dougherty Arts Center building has more than doubled after years of delays, revised plans and rising construction costs.

An initial $28.5 million plan was to relocate and rebuild the arts center in Butler Shores Park, next to the Zach Theatre, with a theater, gallery and arts school. On Tuesday, city staff said current estimates show the project costs escalated by $30.65 million.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: $28 million plan to relocate the Dougherty Arts Center in design phase

Austin Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley outlined the reasons for the cost increases and shared an update on the project with Austin council members Tuesday.

The project to replace Austin’s oldest community arts venue began about 14 years ago with an initial facilities assessment in 2010. Results showed the 1974 building was “beyond repair,” according to the city.

In 2018, Austin voters approved a parks and recreation bond with $25 million for Dougherty Arts Center improvements. At the time, the project was expected to finish in summer 2023.

Since then, there has been more community engagement, council direction and final design work. But feedback led to a $30.65 million price increase for the center’s redevelopment, McNeeley said.

McNeeley’s recommendation to council is to keep the original budget and build in phases. She said this would give the community a usable space with the original $28.5 million budget.

Today, the building is failing after years of upkeep, including regular building flooding and a sinking foundation.

“For the last 14 years, we’ve been making it work,” McNeeley said.

McNeeley said the building floods regularly because the building is in a floodplain with flood risks. There is an emergency protocol in place to ensure safety and to protect the building, she said.

McNeeley said the building is also starting to sink into the ground—leading to lead, asbestos and HVAC issues. The sinking structure is also causing ceiling, door and window problems. The current facility is also not as ADA-compliant as it could be, she said.

During the work session, City Manager Jesús Garza said this project was allowed to escalate beyond the city’s means, leading to a substandard facility.

Why so much?

A number of things led to the $30.65 million cost increase. McNeeley said these include council members’ direction to expand the project scope, alternative funding not materializing, an expanded design, supply chain challenges, increasing construction costs and a local construction boom.

The additional 10 years of planning and designing the project was also costly as “time is money for us in construction,” McNeeley said.

These are the cost increases, as shared during the council work session:

  • Traffic impact analysis: $150,000

  • Additional professional service fees: $500,000

  • Extended community engagement: $1 million

  • Inflation and escalating construction costs due to delays in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023: $6 million

  • Council direction for site design specificity and building placement taking into consideration site constraints: $8 million

  • Council direction for underground parking garage: $15 million

In December 2022, council passed a resolution asking for additional funding in a 2024 bond–which is not happening. McNeeley said they would have to wait for a 2026 bond, which is ultimately up to voters.

“I can’t count on something that is an unknown. And we would still have a building at the Dougherty Arts Center that we’ve been fixing over the number of years that’s beginning to fail and no place for the programs.”

What happens next?

McNeeley said the next steps include informing the community, doing extra community engagement, completing a boards and commission process and permitting for the project.

A decision to use the existing $28.5 million budget would nix the underground parking garage plan. This means a redesign is needed because the foundation is predicated on an underground parking garage in current plans.

“Some of the elements of the design, I think, might be able to be reused, but to the extent that it has to be completely re-permitted and re-engineered…that will take a little bit of time,” McNeeley said.

What led to this?

The project began with a facility conditions assessment in 2010. The building was built in 1974 and had existing plumbing, mechanical and roof issues, McNeeley said.

A 2012 bond program set aside $3.9 million for building improvements, but that money was not sufficient to replace the building, McNeeley said. About $400,000 of this money was used for a roof replacement.

In 2015, a feasibility study looked at DAC redevelopment. In 2017, an architectural program was completed for a future facility.

In 2018, a bond program was approved with $25 million for the center’s redevelopment.

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