The Waller Creek Conservancy will act as the steward of Waller Creek by playing a vital role in the preservation, redevelopment and maintenance of the creek’s surrounding parks, nearby businesses, adjoining neighborhoods and community at large.

Transforming Waller Creek starts with creating a healthy eco-system, one that inspires connectivity and collaboration between the most fundamental aspects of Austin’s collective identity. Throughout a 1.5-mile span of Waller Creek, all of the following reside: higher education, health care, the arts, historic structures, entertainment, housing, hospitality, business, retail, open space and recreational spaces. Yet, to date such components have acted and interacted independently of one another.

Waller Creek is the key connecting tissue that can and should bind all the independent entities into a workable landscape that rests on the bedrock of extraordinary design.

Background
The Conservancy applauds the City of Austin, Travis County, and countless citizens for their efforts in starting the transformation. Thus far the effort is on track to take care of the below-ground needs, specifically the construction of a large tunnel that funnels rain waters into the mouth of Lady Bird Lake. By doing so, the tunnel removes a 28-acre stretch—and landmass equivalent to 11 percent of downtown Austin—from a floodplain that has hindered development and redevelopment opportunities for decades.

With the new tunnel slated for completion in 2014, now is the time to focus on how the area above ground should look, feel, function and perform in the future.

Role
The City and the Conservancy each contributed $400,000 as seed funding for this initial Competition effort. With these funds in place, the Conservancy and City of Austin have launched the formation of a unique public-private partnership. The Conservancy anticipates raising an initial $50 million to $60 million to begin the implementation. All types of funding sources will be vigorously pursued, including private donations, grants, public funds, foundation support, matching funds, etc. The next step will be to host a design competition that will solicit concepts from teams of landscape architects and architects from around the world.

The process will give birth to a world-renowned vision that will be presented to the City. The Conservancy will work closely with government officials to enact policies that support the implementation of that vision—thereby cocooning the concept into the rebirth and renaissance of the 28 acres that encase Waller Creek.

Other Examples
City officials indicate that the Conservancy is undertaking the first project of this magnitude within the City of Austin. Yet, acclaimed projects throughout the country have utilized a similar public-private approach. Other examples include Central Park in New York, Millennium Park in Chicago and Design Green in Houston.