Texas Bar Plans $20M Addition to 1415 Lavaca

The State Bar of Texas is finally ready to trade gavels for shovels near the Capitol Building.

The agency plans to build a $20 million education and conference facility at 1415 Lavaca Street, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Work on the 20,500-square-foot project is expected to begin in June and run to August 2026.

Designed by Lawrence Group Architects, the project calls for partial demolition and additions to the historic Bartholomew-Robinson Building, whose iconic triple towers with mansard roofs have stood just north of the Capitol Building since the 1880s. The State Bar plans to preserve the existing structure and add a three-story building with a lecture hall, conference rooms and patio. It would also include workspaces for lawyers visiting Austin.

A rendering posted by Towers shows an angular, modern design with a glass-enclosed stairwell climbing off the back side of the historic structure, where an empty concrete courtyard currently sits.

Plans to add on to the Bartholomew-Robinson building have been in the works since 2020, when Houston developer William Franks and Trend Hospitality proposed building a 159-key Hilton hotel perched on top of the historic building.

Those plans never came to fruition, and the State Bar bought the building for $3.25 million in 2021. While preservationists opposed the hotel plan for the building, they have supported the State Bar’s proposal, with the powerful local group Preservation Austin writing in favor of the application in December.

The development isn’t the only new kid on the block. Nearby, the Texas Facilities Commission is building out its Capitol Complex project, a 40-block master plan meant to revitalize the area just north of the Capitol Building. The plans call for about 1.5 million square feet of office buildings centered around 1501 Lavaca Street and 1500 Congress Avenue.