The Austin City Council is to vote this week on authorizing the payments for CarrAmerica's Braker Pointe III building, 192,451 sf, in north Austin and its 300 W. Sixth St. building, 444,870 sf, in the CBD.

The Braker Pointe III equipment will save an estimated 424 kilowatts at a program cost of $141 per kilowatt saved, compared to the cost of gas turbine generation at $1,329 per kilowatt, including fuel, operation, and maintenance. At the downtown building, energy improvements will save an estimated 290 kilowatts at a program cost of $243 per kilowatt. Gas turbine generation, by comparison, would cost about $1,329 per kilowatt, including fuel, operation, and maintenance.

Braker Pointe is a 28-acre mixed-use project at MoPac Expressway and Braker Lane. It includes two other office buildings and a proposed Hilton Suites hotel. The downtown building is set to open late this year. Initial tenants are the law firms of Clark, Thomas & Winters, PC and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, and the venture capital firm Austin Ventures.