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Former city employee George Austin is mover and shaker for high-profile developments

He?s not an architect, developer or politician, but George Austin has left an imprint on Madison?s landscape like few others. As a former city Planning and Development director and a private consultant since 1998, Austin led the most complex, iconic projects in the city, including Monona Terrace, Overture Center and the recently opened Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery ? a half-billion dollars in construction in the past 15 years.Now, Austin, 59, is engaged in two more high-profile initiatives within a block of the state Capitol, both presenting the sort of challenges that confronted previous big efforts.