Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan Rivals National Capitals

 The 2016 Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan is the largest investment into the Lone Star State Capital to date. $895 Million in funding has been approved for the first two phases of the development.

Phases 1 is actively under construction, while Phase 2 of the 3 phase project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

The guiding vision for the Capitol Complex north of 15th Street is to create the Texas Mall—an expansion of the Capitol Extension open space. This idea is not new; as early as 1956, the Capitol Area Master Plan envisioned a grand Congress Mall extending to 19th Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard).

The mall will provide a gateway to the complex from the north as well as much-needed new open space for state employees, visitors, and special events; and it will define an important view corridor to the Capitol building. 

The Texas Mall has been designed to rival the National Mall in Washington DC. With live music and community gathering spaces, it will truly be a sight to behold.

The 84th Texas Legislature has funded Phase 1 of the master plan, including approximately 1,025,000 gross square feet of new office space; this phase consolidates approximately seventy-five percent of current lease space into the Capitol Complex.

Phase 1 implementation also includes 4,840 new parking spaces, three blocks of the Texas Mall landscape and associated streetscape improvements, and needed infrastructure upgrades to support the new development.

Perhaps, most importantly the new office space will provide employment opportunities to the tune of 3,000 new jobs. For decades the State of Texas has been Austin's largest employer. A trend the will continue to grow in tandem with the Capitol expansion project.

The first 4 Projects in phase 1 are currently under construction. The Capitol Complex North Central Utility Plant will be completed March of 2021.

The new State Office Building located at 1601 Congress is slated to finish construction in February of 2022.

Finally, the George HW Bush State Office Building, located at 1801 Congress, and the Texas Mall both will reach completion in May of 2022.

The remaining 2 phases and future expansions will likely span the next several decades, as the City of Austin continues to evolve.