Officials give update on Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Visitor Center's future

AUSTIN, Texas - There is an update on the future of the multi-million-dollar Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Visitor Center. It is one of the largest urban preserves in the country, protecting endangered species and their habitats, and it is located in Travis County.

The Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Visitor Center was purchased in 2019 by the county for nearly $20 million.

The three-story building will house nature resource program staff on the second floor and county employees on the third floor.

"The 93-acre site is going to be open to the public with hiking trails and exhibits and event space. We are really excited about all the possibilities. It’s a 60,000-square-foot, three-story building with extensive grounds," said Natural Resources Environmental Quality Director Emily Ackland.

A slideshow presented during commissioner’s court showed the phases of the visitor center that is set to start construction in 2025.

"The graphics on all three stories of the atrium will kind of set the theme for the center as being underground on the first-floor, ground level on the second floor, and kind of a canopy sky motif on the third floor. That little portal that you see right underneath the juniper tree there is what is going to lead into the exhibit center or exhibit hall," said BCP Visitor Center Manager Jeremy Hull.

There are several exhibits that will be featured on the preserve that was created in 1996 to protect endangered species and their habitats.

"One thing I wanted to highlight was the car slot. This is a very large feature structure in the exhibit center. It will be a 3D structure, nine feet tall that is made to look like a sinkhole or cave. Back to the pavilion there and what we are going to do is actually go underneath it. This is going to be built up to make it feel and look like you are going down into a cave, because so much we do revolves around caves," says Hull.

According to the staff, the cave will include educational facts and demonstrate the way the water cycle is used.

The trails and features will all be made handicap-accessible.

It is expected to open to the public in 2027.