Downtown Round Rock’s onetime library has traded quiet stacks for a lot more foot traffic. The restored Griffith Building is officially back open and now houses the Round Rock Chamber, the Round Rock Visitors Center, and the new City Arts Center under one roof. The two-story arts space debuted with work by local painter Linda Murray, and city leaders are billing the overhaul as a new civic anchor on Main Street. The Chamber marked its move-in with a Founder’s Wall reception while the city wraps up a new paseo that links the site to Prete Plaza and the recently opened public library.
The 44,000-square-foot rehabilitation carried a price tag of about $19.5 million and was funded with a mix of Type B sales tax revenue, hotel-occupancy tax dollars, and roughly $4.2 million from the city's general self-finance construction budget, according to the City of Round Rock. The project transformed the former library into gallery space, visitor service,s and second-floor conference rooms and offices while contractors upgraded mechanical systems and preserved the building’s historic shell. City documents note that McKinney York Architects led the design work and Braun & Butler Construction handled the remodel.
“it’s exactly where it’s supposed to be—right in our downtown,” Mayor Craig Morgan told guests at the Chamber's reception on Jan. 22, the night the organization officially settled into its new second-floor offices, as reported by Community Impact. The Chamber used the evening both to unveil a Founder’s Wall recognizing donors and to signal a renewed focus on Main Street business outreach.
New Arts Space And Programming
The City Arts Center opened with a soft launch in mid-January before shifting to regular hours on Jan. 20. Admission is free, and the gallery plans to host rotating exhibitions and community programs, according to the city's arts and culture page. Its inaugural show, "Chapters" by Round Rock artist Linda Murray, runs through April 3 and will feature a public reception timed with the Griffith Building ribbon cutting on Jan. 29, as listed on the city’s event calendar.
A Chihuly Centerpiece
The city has also signed off on a $360,000 commission with Chihuly Studio for a custom blown-glass chandelier that is set to serve as the arts center’s showpiece. Fabrication was scheduled to begin in January, with installation expected in the fall, Community Impact reported. Officials have said the contract will be financed initially through general self-finance funds and later repaid with hotel occupancy tax revenue so the artwork remains a permanent, city-owned asset.
What This Means For Downtown
Sitting between Prete Plaza and Main Street, the Griffith Building is now tied into a newly completed paseo that boosts walkability and sightlines to nearby businesses, according to Downtown Round Rock. Chamber leaders have framed the move as a deliberate return to the city’s core, clustering visitor services, arts programming, and business support in one place to help drive daytime foot traffic, per the Round Rock Chamber announcement.
