Seaholm Power Plant Re-Development

Project Details

Project Description

Commissioned in 1948 to meet Austin’s growing electricity needs, the Art Deco-inspired Seaholm Power Plant closed in 1989, leaving generations of Austinites yearning to restore this brownfield site. The Seaholm Power Plant Re-Development came to life as a 7.8-acre, residential urban neighborhood development with the renovated cast-in-place Power Plant at its heart. The 128,000sf, adaptive reuse, LEED Gold® Power Plant now hosts tech companies with a design that blends a modern aesthetic with the nostalgic artifacts. One of the original boilers was transformed into the swanky, 9,600sf, four-story restaurant, Boiler Nine Bar + Grill. The Power Plant is neighbored by a contemporary 67,000 sf, two-story, mixed-use, LEED Gold® low-rise building and 615,000 sf, 30-story, 280-unit residential high-rise, creating a juxtaposition to bring the Re-Development into the 21st century. As the crux of the Seaholm EcoDistrict, an 85-acre development in Downtown Austin selected as one of 10 projects in North America to participate in the EcoDistrict 1 Pilot Program, the project site was applauded by National Geographic for furthering Austin’s status as a pioneer of the green building movement. The sustainable efforts taken during redevelopment preserved or repurposed many historical elements like the original intake systems into a 325,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system for site irrigation. The site achieved an Austin Energy Green Building rating of Four-Stars. It was important to keep the history of the site intact while transforming it to a place all of Austin can utilize – a goal shared by the City of Austin, the developer and Austin natives for the fastest growing city in America to keep its culture rooted in public places. The Re-Development continues to be an integral part of Austin’s history, but also serves as a prime model for the country that sustainable, multi-modal communities can thrive in urban environments.