Downtown Austin Alliance Gets $47K Grant For Republic Square

AUSTIN, TX — Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation officials on Monday announced that Republic Square — which the Foundation maintains, operates and programs — has been chosen by the Clarity Parks Project and Project for Public Spaces as one of three public spaces to receive a $47,000 grant.

Grants were awarded to cities that have been impacted by natural disaster from the makers of Claritin, officials explained. The grant will be used to enhance and protect the historic Auction Oaks, as well as improve the comfort and image of the park with new landscaping, plantings and water-resilient features in the area surrounding the park’s celebrated trees, officials added.

“The Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation is honored and grateful to Claritin, Clarity Parks Project and the Project for Public Spaces for granting us the funds and providing assistance as we intentionally design the area around the Auction Oaks to protect and enhance these 584-year-old trees, ” Molly Alexander, executive director of the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, said in a prepared statement. “Republic Square is considered the birthplace of Austin and also became the center of Austin’s Mexican and Tejano communities. The preservation and enhancement of this treasured public space is paramount.”

A collaborative partnership with LBJ Wildflower Center, Bartlett Tree Experts, the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department and the Project for Public Spaces, the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation is transforming the condition of this space and providing needed care for the famed trees, under which Austin land lots were first plotted and sold. The space will be open, inclusive and teeming with native plant life. The goal is to provide a beautiful space inspired by the grand trees and native Central Texas plants.

The Clarity Parks ProjectTM helped PPS to connect with local partners at the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation. Enhancements to Republic Square will demonstrate how social and physical infrastructure work together, strengthening the experience of public space users while simultaneously improving the park’s ability to absorb future storms.

“We are excited to partner with the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation to enhance, improve and adapt Republic Square to provide the best visitor experience on an everyday basis,” Phil Myrick, CEO of Project for Public Spaces, said in a prepared statement. “Public spaces are part of what makes a community feel like home and Republic Square is a vital part of the Austin community. When it finally comes time to reopen our cities and towns, parks like Republic Square will be where we rediscover the joy of coming together as a community.”

Project for Public Spaces is administering the grants and providing technical assistance to grantees as they tackle their own unique placemaking and resilience challenges. Given the ongoing measures to restrict the transmission of COVID-19, all work will proceed in accordance with reopening guidelines from state and local governments.

In addition to Republic Square, the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans and H.A. Chapman Centennial Green in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were also selected by Project for Public Spaces to be part of the Clarity Parks ProjectTM and receive Claritin® grants totaling $150,000.