A City Council resolution approved last week approves the transfer of creative space bond money to projects including the purchase and preservation of the Museum of Human Achievement in East Austin.
The resolution names MoHA and creative space planned for Pleasant Hill Collaborative’s redevelopment of Blocks 16 and 18 on East 11th Street. It doesn’t specify an amount allocated to buying and preserving MoHA, a converted warehouse-style building on 1.3 acres at 3600 Lyons Road in the Govalle neighborhood.
Voters approved the bond money for funding creative spaces in 2018. The Travis Central Appraisal District values the property, which includes a warehouse-style building and other structures used for a variety of creative endeavors, at about $2 million.
Under the terms of the resolution, MoHA will buy the property and sign a 40-year ground lease with Rally Austin (the new name of the Austin Economic Development Corporation), which will sublease the property back to MoHA. The resolution includes “improvements to the existing main building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades, remodeled interior spaces, and related site improvements.”
