Tag Archives: Travis County Civil and Family Courthouse
Tuesday, July 11, 2017 by Caleb Pritchard
Development
County prepares to strike lucrative deal for failed courthouse site
Instead of a new civil courthouse, how about a massive, privately financed mixed-use development that will pour millions of dollars into public coffers? That’s the direction Travis County is close to clinching for its hyper-valuable piece of downtown property at…
Thursday, December 22, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
Feds clear county’s path to new old courthouse
Travis County is one step closer to claiming ownership of a historic federal courthouse in downtown Austin. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rejected homeless advocacy group Front Steps’ bid to take control of the U.S.…
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County criminal courts ask for more judges
The Travis County Criminal Courts system is in need of expanding, according to top officials. Presiding Judge Brenda Kennedy and several of her colleagues officially made the request before County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and the Commissioners Court on Tuesday. All…
Wednesday, October 12, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County could seek to cram new courts in crowded courthouse
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday agonized over a proposal to add two more district courts to the already stuffed Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse. Led by local administrative Judge Lora Livingston, a delegation from the county’s civil and family…
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Planning
Capitol view corridor dashes longshot hopes for county courthouse plan
The Texas Legislature has no interest in helping Travis County build a new civil courthouse across the street from its existing one if it means blocking protected views of the State Capitol, according to state Sen. Kirk Watson. “I don’t…
Monday, August 15, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
Austin Monitor Radio: Travis County Courthouse redux?
Austin Monitor reporter Caleb Pritchard sits down with Julia Spann, chair of the community advisory committee for the Civil and Family Court Complex, and Belinda Powell, the county’s strategic resource planning manager, to talk about the continuing Travis County Courthouse…
Wednesday, August 3, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
Courthouse committee seeks Commissioners Court’s guidance
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said on Tuesday that the current gold standard of potential sites for a new civil courthouse is another county-owned property in downtown Austin. “I do understand that, at least in the tier one analysis, it’s…
Thursday, June 23, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County keeps controversial property in courthouse hunt
The Travis County Commissioners Court has revised the list of properties in their hunt for a new civil courthouse site, and one parcel that remains in the running is the one that voters rejected last November. Based on recommendations from…
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County moves to add new courthouse to its collection
In its quest to relieve overcrowding at the 85-year-old Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, Travis County is turning its eyes to a younger building: the 81-year-old U.S. Courthouse at 200 W. Eighth St. On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted…
Monday, May 23, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
State law stymies county courthouse plans
Travis County’s renewed search for a suitable site for a new civil courthouse is facing stiff headwinds from a state law aimed at stifling development in downtown Austin. Last Wednesday, the Civil and Family Courthouse Community Advisory Committee showed little…
Friday, March 25, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County ponders partnership with city on one-stop justice shop
With a pair of aging courthouses between them, Travis County and the city of Austin could find a solution to their problems through mutual cooperation. That idea was part of the focus of a Thursday afternoon work session at Travis…
Monday, February 22, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
Travis County approves screening process for courthouse sites
Travis County planners are heading back to the laboratory to hash out the pros and cons of several select properties – including the one that voters rejected in November – that could be home to a new civil courthouse. On…
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County reboots civil courthouse project
Less than three months after voters rejected a nine-figure bond to build a new civil courthouse, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted on Tuesday to effectively reboot the process that had been more than 15 years in the making. The…
Friday, November 13, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
Austin
Zimmerman, Troxclair resurrect failed proposal for civil courthouse
Two Austin City Council members are renewing an effort to persuade Travis County to build a new civil courthouse in the so-called “Eastern Crescent.” The day after voters narrowly rejected the county’s $287 million bond to build the facility in downtown Austin,…
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
Elections
Travis County voters reject civil courthouse bonds
It was a tight match all night long, but in the end, Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond fell with a stiff punch in the gut. After several tense hours that at one extended point saw…
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
Elections
Travis County committed to downtown courthouse
The downtown block at the center of Travis County’s proposed Civil & Family Courts Complex proposal won’t necessarily be freed up for private development if voters reject the $287 million bond today. Opposition to the proposal has sprouted from downtown…
Monday, November 2, 2015 by Michael Kanin
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: TravCo courthouse debate
Travis County Pct. 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea and Travis County Taxpayers Union representative Roger Falk join Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to debate the question of whether or not to fund the construction of a new Travis County Civil and…
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
Development
Commissioners get tangled up on Master Plan policy
A key component of Travis County’s Master Plan – a massive realignment of workers, buildings and valuable real estate holdings – remains grounded after staff signaled on Tuesday that it wasn’t quite ready for takeoff. Before the County Commissioners Court…
Tuesday, October 20, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard
Travis County
County planners pledge to keep courthouse block “alive after five”
Anxiety is palpable this week at 700 Lavaca St., where Travis County officials and planners nervously wait as early voters cast their ballots to decide the fate of the $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond. While the Travis…
Monday, October 19, 2015 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: In so many words
Last week, the Austin Monitor reported on a press conference held by the Travis County Taxpayers Union to announce the group’s opposition to Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond. Due to space constraints, we included in…
