The Austin Chronicle has a piece on the forthcoming revitalization of Republic Square. Republic Square will be remade with new anchors: the federal courthouse, the post office mixed use project, and the Austin Museum of Arts.
I truly hope Republic Square's transformation succeeds. But the federal courthouse will be a dead zone. I've practiced law for fourteen years in federal courthouses; they're about as lively as a mausoleum. Aside from a handful of employees, the traffic they generate consists of criminal defendants (who don't want to be there); civil litigants (who don't want to be there); and lawyers (no comment necessary).
On the positive side, the Chronicle reports they'll be demolishing the Intel shell to make way for the courthouse before the end of the year.
