Friends,

Over the past several years many of you have spent time at the Browning Hangar playing pétanque, exercising, meeting friends, and enjoying one of the most unusual public spaces in Austin. What began as a simple open hangar left over from the old Mueller Airport has gradually become something special — a free, informal gathering place used by many different groups across the community.

Because the future of the Hangar has never been formally secured, I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the past few years researching ways that the space might be protected and improved so it can remain open and active long into the future.

This effort has involved studying City processes, gathering historical information about the Hangar, building websites to explain its importance, and developing ideas for how the site could be maintained and supported without changing its open public character. The goal has always been simple: keep the Hangar alive as a welcoming public space rather than letting it quietly disappear as the Mueller development evolves.

Recently there has been a potentially promising development.

The City of Austin is currently working on a new capital bond program that will fund improvements to public facilities across the city. After reviewing the process carefully, it appears there may be a possible path to include modest improvements for the Hangar — things like basic infrastructure, lighting, and permanent restrooms that would stabilize the facility and support the way people already use the space.

This week I sent a short proposal to the City’s Capital Delivery Services department outlining a facility stabilization concept for the Hangar. The proposal focuses only on maintaining and improving an existing public asset — not changing how the space works or turning it into something formal or commercial.

At this point nothing is guaranteed. City projects go through many stages of review and competition for funding. But for the first time in a while, there appears to be a realistic mechanism within the City’s normal planning process that could help secure the Hangar’s future.

Regardless of what happens next, I wanted everyone who enjoys the Hangar to understand that a great deal of quiet groundwork has been taking place behind the scenes to explore ways the space might be protected and improved.

The Browning Hangar is a unique piece of Austin history and an unusually open public place. Spaces like that rarely survive by accident — they survive because people notice them, care about them, and occasionally make the effort to help guide their future.

For now, the best thing we can all do is continue enjoying the space and showing that it matters to the community.

I’ll keep everyone posted if there are developments.

Jeff