Have you ever noticed this building as you were running along the Hike-and-Bike Trail or paddling on Lady Bird Lake?

It’s the historic Seaholm Intake building and for years it’s been left pretty much abandoned… until now. Last week, the Austin Parks Foundation and The Trail Foundation announced that they’d be putting up the $450,000 needed to fund a planning study to transform the Seaholm Intake building and its surrounding parkland into a vibrant public space.

“The Trail Foundation is incredibly excited about our partnership with APF and PARD to begin the process of giving new life to this space,” said Brian Ott, interim executive director of The Trail Foundation, in a press release. “The 3 acres of parkland including the historic buildings, give us a unique opportunity to activate and reimagine what has become an underutilized public asset right next to downtown.”

The idea behind the planning study is to allow the community to have a say in deciding what the Seaholm Intake building should become. Throughout the course of the study, there will be several online surveys, stakeholder meetings, and open houses. Stay tuned for exact dates and details. The Austin EcoNetwork will keep you posted!

An architecture firm has also been hired to help develop a long-range vision for the project and to come up with funding estimates and construction plans. More info>>

What is the historic Seaholm Intake building?
Originally built to pump water for cooling into the nearby Seaholm Power Plant in the 1950s, the Seaholm Intake building fell out of use decades ago when the power plant was decommissioned. The building is an example of Art Deco design and is on the National Register of Historic Places. More recently, the Seaholm Power Plant has been renovated and redeveloped and is now the home of businesses like Trader Joes and Athenahealth.