Waller Creek Boathouse event, cafe space will have to move from current location to make way for light rail
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The upper part of the Waller Creek Boathouse, which includes a café and event space, needs to be relocated due to the construction of a light rail line. (Jack Flagler / Community Impact Newspaper)
The proposed Blue Line Light Rail route, which will connect Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with downtown and North Austin, will cross Lady Bird Lake on an above-ground bridge before entering a system of tunnels in the downtown area.
While employees at Capital Metro and the Austin Transit Partnership are still discussing planned station locations and the rail route, they have said that the point where the rail line crosses the river and enters the tunnel system will require the removal of parts of the Waller Creek Boathouse becomes.
“The upper part of the boathouse can no longer be there because of the inclines that we cross and then dive into the tunnel. The directors May 24th. “We would like and intend to keep the lower portion.”
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The boathouse is owned by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department and leased by the Austin Rowing Club, a nonprofit that provides rowing opportunities for the community.
In the upper part of the boathouse is Alta’s Café, an all-day dining place with a menu of coffee, sandwiches, and smoothies, as well as an event space that can be rented. According to a statement from Capital Metro, the lower part of the boathouse contains the mechanical equipment for the Waller Creek rainwater tunnel, which will remain in operation during the construction period.
“We really don’t want to try and move the pumps and everything in there,” said Couch.
Losing the top of the boathouse doesn’t mean losing the entire Austin Rowing Club. The rowing club, the city and Capital Metro are in ongoing negotiations to find a new home for the ARC, according to a spokesman for the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.
Construction of the light rail lines is scheduled to begin in 2024 and will take around five years. Capital Metro is in an environmental review process that is expected to take approximately two years.
The Blue Line bridge spanning Lady Bird Lake would be located between South Congress Avenue and I-35, connecting the Austin American-Statesman property on the south bank of the river to the Waller Creek Boathouse area to the north.
Peter Mullan, ATP chief for architecture and urban development, informed the ATP board on May 19 that there would be facilities for pedestrians and bicycles in addition to the transport of the light rail across the lake.
ATP staff is expected to present proposed station locations and routes on June 16 for the northern and southern portions of the Orange Line and July 21 for downtown, where the Orange and Blue Lines converge.
The ARC was not available for comment before the deadline for this story.
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