The downtown Tax Increment Financing Zone board on Thursday narrowly approved an extra $17.4 million for the riverfront development around the new Baylor University basketball arena, with the lion’s share earmarked for a decorative mesh facade on a city-built parking garage.
The funding request, which came from the city of Waco and must be approved by the Waco City Council, brings the TIF Zone’s total contribution to the riverfront project to about $133 million.
The amendment covers increased contractor costs as well as a $9.5 million metal facade wrapping around the 90-foot-tall garage on University Parks Drive, across Clay Avenue from Baylor’s Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion now under construction. Board members approved the amendments 3-2 after debating the need for such a facade.
A rendering shows the parking garage’s mesh facade, with opportunities for advertising and a video board, that would be visible from the plaza in front of Baylor University’s Foster Pavilion basketball arena.
The board oversees a fund that bankrolls economic development improvements inside the city’s core, using property taxes collected within that district.
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The Clay Avenue garage serving the $213 million basketball pavilion is about 18% complete. Assistant City Manager Paul Cain said to meet the garage’s deadline of being “parkable” by the arena’s first game in January 2024, the architects have been designing “on the fly,” starting with design underground and working up as the facility is constructed.
The garage, now expected to cost $37.6
million, will provide 450 parking spaces on six upper decks, which will sit atop 20,000 square feet of retail space on its ground floor. The retail space is expected to cost $7.5 million.
The parking garage under construction at the corner of Clay Avenue and University Parks, seen looking toward the new Baylor University basketball arena and I-35, has a January deadline to be usable.
Cain said the Waco City Council requested the facade enhancements given the high visibility of the structure on all four sides.
“There was a great deal of emphasis from the city council that the garage not just look like a big parking garage,” Cain said. “It’s going to be 90 feet tall, so you don’t just want to leave it open with cables and staring into a parking facility that close to the interstate.”
Mesh screening and possibly video boards would cover the side of the garage facing the plaza in front of the basketball arena. Cain said the city is talking to Baylor about reserving the mesh space for advertising, which might include three 21-foot by 42-foot panels, two 24-foot by 19-foot panels and a 50-foot video board. The advertisements would be bigger than highway billboards, he said.
The garage facade facing University Parks Drive could depict the cliffs across the river at Brazos Park East.
Perforated aluminum panels facing Clay Avenue would show images of Waco history.
Facing University Parks Drive, the screen mesh could display an image of the cliffs across the river from Brazos Park East. On the Clay Avenue side, the facade could be made of aluminum panels perforated with holes of various sizes that would make up historic images of Waco, such A.J. Moore High School, the segregated black school that once sat on the site.
“We’re trying to make it more than just a parking garage, make it a place that reflects the history of Waco going forward,” Cain said.
The side of the garage facing the Brazos River and visible from southbound Interstate 35 could also have perforated aluminum panels that display historical Baylor campus images.
The projected cost of the garage project has doubled since December. Of the $18.6 million increase since December, $9.5 million goes toward the facade and the balance is attributed to updated cost estimates and contractor pricing due to the fast-paced nature of meeting the project deadline. The city chose Austin Commercial as the “construction manager at-risk” to manage the project and its costs.
Having looked at brick, faux-brick, masonry and vegetation options, project officials concluded the mesh facade was the most cost-effective solution, Cain said.
Several TIF board members Thursday agreed with spending money on the garage because of its public nature, but struggled with spending an additional $9.5 million for the enhancement. They questioned the garage’s visibility from the interstate due to its proximity to other buildings within the riverfront development.
Board member Will Jones, a McLennan County commissioner, said advertisements he’s seen on parking garages can sometimes be tacky, but the décor would make the garage look better if it was shown on TV next to the pavilion.
Board member Josh Blake said there are so many things being built around the garage, such as the pavilion and Riverwalk, that will distract from the facade anyway. Blake said when the Baylor garage on Dutton Avenue was built in 2003 it was also close to I-35, and many parking garages next to stadiums are not memorable.
“When the Garage Mahal went up at Baylor, I can’t tell you what the facades look like,” he said, referring to a nickname for the steepled, brick-faced Dutton structure. “You know why? Because they had these massive steeples that they drew your attention, and yet we had this garage parked close to 35 that was prominent for years and no one ever complained about the facade.”
Cain said this garage is going to be 90 feet tall, nearly as tall as the pavilion itself.
Blake asked if this was the best use of the TIF funds, as from his perspective, “we’ve sat here and reduced the amount that has been asked by other people that are investing in our city. And we’ve said no because we want to spend $9.5 million on a facade.”
Board members stressed public input on the facade designs, and the city council will ultimately approve the images that are used.
The funding amendment passed 3-2, with Blake and Jones dissenting.
The downtown Tax Increment Financing Zone board on Thursday narrowly approved an extra $17.4 million for the riverfront development around the new Baylor University basketball arena, with the lion’s share earmarked for a decorative mesh facade on a city-built parking garage.
