AUSTIN
– The University of Texas System Board of Regents today (March 26)
selected an internationally recognized master planning firm to develop
a minimum of two conceptual master plans for the potential
redevelopment of land in West Austin known as the Brackenridge Tract.
The Board selected Cooper,
Robertson & Partners, LLP, a New York-based firm, following
interviews today with two finalists from an initial pool of 13 firms
that responded to a request for qualifications (RFQ) issued in December
2007.
Information about Cooper, Robertson & Partners, LLP and the project team may be found online.
“The
board looks forward to engaging in this planning process with Cooper,
Robertson & Partners and receiving the comprehensive analyses and
conceptual master plans of the Brackenridge Tract,” Regents’ Chairman H. Scott Caven, Jr.,
said. “We are very impressed with the firm’s experience with and
plans for community input during the planning process.”
In accepting the motion to select the firm offered by Regents’ Vice Chairman James R. Huffines,
the board instructed UT System and UT Austin staff to present a plan
for a permanent dedication of potential revenue realized from the
development of the land to benefit faculty, graduate and undergraduate
students. Examples of such uses could include efforts aimed at
faculty recruitment and retention and the funding of academic programs
and essential student services.
The
selection of the master planner is another step in the implementation
of a key recommendation issued by the Brackenridge Tract Task Force in
October 2007. The Task Force recommended that the board engage a
master planner to provide a comprehensive analysis of the tract to
facilitate planning for future uses. The Task Force also
recommended that the analysis engage UT Austin and seek input from
members of the community, civic and governmental leaders, and other
interested individuals.
In making
its recommendations, the Task Force stressed that the Board has a legal
and ethical duty – indeed, a fiduciary duty - to carry out Colonel
George W. Brackenridge’s fundamental philanthropic purpose to use the
tract for the benefit of the educational mission of UT Austin.
Cooper,
Robertson & Partners, LLP, is charged with producing a minimum of
two conceptual master plans for the redevelopment of approximately 346
acres along Lady Bird Lake in West Austin. The master planning team
will begin work no later than May 2008, with a goal of presenting
comprehensive planning documents to the Board of Regents between March
and June 2009.
An internal
selection committee identified two finalists to be interviewed by the
Board. The RFQ called for nationally-recognized planners with
outstanding communication skills and sensitivity to and understanding
of the challenges confronting public universities. The RFQ also sought
firms that had completed master plans for developments of comparable
size and complexity.
“We want to
thank the many organizations and members of the public who took time to
share their views with the task force and the Board,” Caven said.
“The Board is committed to ensuring that this process remains
transparent with additional opportunities for the public to provide
input as we move forward.”
The
land along Lady Bird Lake was donated in 1910 by Brackenridge, a former
UT System regent from San Antonio, for the benefit of The University of
Texas at Austin. Since that time, some acreage was conveyed for streets
and similar public purposes and for residential development. Today, the
tract consists of approximately 346 acres of undeveloped and developed
land that includes a municipal golf course, UT Austin student housing,
a biological field laboratory for the campus, a youth sports complex
and various commercial buildings and enterprises on property leased
from the board.
About the University of Texas System
Serving the educational and health care needs of Texans for more than
125 years, the UT System is one of the nation's largest higher
education systems with 15 campuses – including nine academic and six
health institutions – and an annual operating budget of $10.7 billion
(FY 2008). Student enrollment exceeded 194,000 in the 2007 academic
year. The UT System confers one-third of the state's undergraduate
degrees and educates three-fourths of Texas health care professionals.
With more than 80,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest
employers in Texas.
