The Waller Creek Conservancy's Peter Mullan is in charge of turning a forgotten creek into a paradise.
"It's kind of hidden in the city, so how do we open it up to the city?" Mullan asked.
The City of Austin charged the Waller Creek Conservancy with revamping the creek and parks along Waller.
"My goal is that 15 years from now, people feel like they couldn't live without it and Austin wouldn't be Austin without it," Mullan said.
It's a huge undertaking given how long the creek stretches.
"It changes so dramatically and again just like natural environments do,” Mullan said.
Up north, Mullan’s team will turn Waterloo Park into an open green space for concerts. Downtown near the river, it'll create a forest of bridges and paths.
"Down south there are areas that are much more urbanized, and I think the character will be very different there,” Mullan said.
It's an urban soup, meaning the conservancy needs to engage a lot of communities.
"For it to work we all have to work together,” Mullan said. “It's a partnership and a collective effort."
That pitch worked with the University of Texas. This month next to the new medical school, the school is beginning to build its own trail along Waller to enhance green space.
"If you've been on the main campus, you know the beautiful, live oaks. It's part of the experience of the main campus so this is simply an extension of that,” Bob Rawski with the University of Texas said.
The hiking trail will begin at 15th Street where the medical school is being built and eventually stretch through campus.
"You can really leverage those opportunities and those connections to make it all work,” Mullan said. “In the end if you can make it all work, it's a win-win for everybody."
The University of Texas will start clearing brush this month and plans to finish the trail by May of next year. The conservancy could break ground on Waterloo Park next summer.