Austin Municipal Court closes south substation

As the Austin Municipal Court prepares to relocate from its aging downtown location at the end of the year, one of the court's two substations is closing and shifting its services to the current main site.

The city announced late last month it did not renew a lease it has had for the past 22 years at the south substation, located at 5700 Manchaca Road. The location will cease to exist on the last day of February, saving the city $63,345 annually, officials said.

The south substation and a north substation on Lamplight Village Avenue are not standard courts with judges and prosecutors. Services housed at the substations include registering for driving safety courses, submitting court documents and setting up payment plans.

South Austin residents should not fret about needing to trek downtown to the main Municipal Court building, city officials said. They can continue to handle most of their needs online or through the mail, officials said.

"The individuals who are handling business at the south substation can go online," Municipal Court Clerk Mary Jane Grubb said. "They don't have to come here."

People who prefer to handle matters in-person might encounter parking challenges in the area around East Seventh Street and Interstate 35, she said. But the city does not anticipate increased wait times.

The shuttering of the substation comes as Austin prepares to vacate the decrepit downtown municipal court, a building that opened 66 years ago and now poses safety concerns with mold and has bad odors. In October, the City Council voted unanimously to approve a $29.9 million, 10-year contract to lease space at the Bergstrom Tech Center, located at 6800 Burleson Road. It's expected to open in December.

Meanwhile, the city is tangled in a lawsuit that says it backed out of an agreement to house the Municipal Court at a Southeast Austin business park — the MetCenter — for $31 million over 10 years. Attorneys for the city through court records have stated that the deal was never approved before they shifted their sights to the Bergstrom Tech Center. The case is pending in District Court.

Over the next decade, the city will work to identify two new permanent court locations, one south and another north to replace the existing location at Lamplight Village Avenue. In addition, the city hopes to find a new permanent facility for the Downtown Austin Community Court.