This September will mark two years that we have been in our “new” office at 1902 East 6th Street in Austin. It has been a work in progress on a tight cash flow, with plenty of sweat equity put in by TBC staff and friends.
Moving is always disruptive and this one didn’t come at a good time. But the old space, half the square footage with storage spread over different rental units across town, was so cramped that it was dysfunctional – the move had to be made. The new space (3000 s.f.) had been vacant for some time. Texas Bicycle Coalition negotiated an improvement allowance with the landlord and soon we had completed an interior paint job, sliding glass windows on interior walls to spread the light, and a wood floor over the concrete – a new life flowed through the space. Then we went to work on the exterior.
We passed a major milestone this Spring when, after repainting the outside a solid blue, we put the “BikeTexas” sign up. Immediately, folks passing by started coming in, asking about what we do. A neighbor organization that puts on fitness activities dropped by to get acquainted, and we are now building a partnership that we will describe in a future newsletter. We have opened up to others in the area and, in addition to hosting business visitors, we have welcomed area cycling advocacy groups to use the broad open space for a number of meetings.
A sizeable “punch list” remains, so it will still be new to us for some time. But we believe we have reached the point where the office reflects to the general public and to public agencies the commitment that we have made together to cycling in Texas. If you live in the area or you are traveling to Austin, please stop by! We look forward to seeing you soon.
