*Note: You must sign-up for the EcoDistrict Tour during registration. Or edit your registration to include the tour.**

Electric Drive & EcoDistrict Tour

Come join us! We are offering a tour of the Seaholm Eco District including Austin’s coolest ecofriendly library along with a walk down a smart sustainable mobility street named Electric Drive.

Seaholm Eco District is a 90-acre area reflects Austin’s commitment to sustainable urban living and contains green features that are good for the environment and people who, live, work or play here.

Austin created the “Library of the Future” in the Seaholm Eco District.  The library was created and built with sustainable space in mind while created a new innovative way to use it.

Electric Drive is a transportation innovation hub that features DC fast charging for charging in minutes as opposed to hours, as well as level 2 charging for customers to use while they enjoy other aspects of the Eco District. A solar charging station is an innovative combination of solar technology, transportation infrastructure, and civic place making.  It offers the public the opportunity to gather in the shade while recharging their mobile electronics or electric two-wheel transportation from the sun.  Electric Drive is a key component of the Plug-In EVerywhere℠ network and demonstrates Austin as a Smart City leader in electric transportation.

During this tour you will see how this district incorporates:

• Energy Innovation: District-wide air conditioning with chilled water infrastructure and solar panels on roods and benches
• Water Conservation: Large scale rainwater collection in cisterns and reclaimed water used for landscape irrigation and toilet flushing
• Mobility: A compact and connected neighborhood with multi-modal transportation options including MetroRapid buses, and car-share, walkways, bridges and urban trails
• Place-making: Public art installations, the iconic Butterfly Bridge, and unique Festival Street and gathering spaces designed to bring people together
• Culturally Significant Places: The EcoDistrict contains the site of the first permanent settlement in Austin and now includes the adaptive reuse of the historic Seaholm Power Plant and new Central Library
• Green Building: All new development designed and constructed according to LEED or Austin Energy Green Building standards
• Water Quality: Innovative stormwater control measure capture and filer run-off using vegetation to remove pollutants before it return sot our lakes, rivers and streams.
• Wildlife Habitat: Shoal Creek and Shoal Beach restoration includes native riparian plantings for fish, birds and turtles and the Central Library green rood provides butterfly habitat
• Zero-Emissions Infrastructure: Electric Drive provides fast-charging electric vehicle stations and a Solar Kiosk with recharging for electric bikes, phones and tablets