Austin wants more community benefits from projects on city-owned land

The city is looking at how to improve many of the activities it takes in redeveloping publicly owned properties, with a special eye on increasing community benefits such as affordable housing in projects such as the Austin Convention Center.

A memo released Friday includes several responses from the Economic Development Department to a December resolution that directed city staff to come up with a process for City Council to weigh in early and consider how to include benefits such as affordable housing, living wages for workers, revenue sharing and Better Builder Certification into the redevelopment of city properties.

The resolution, which was driven in part by the forthcoming reconstruction of the convention center, also sought to separate the negotiation and execution steps of construction deals, to keep Council from effectively approving an unwritten contract.

It also called for a review of prior redevelopment projects to determine how more community benefits could have been negotiated with building partners.

The memo from the EDD notes that a review of previous redevelopment projects is currently underway by an outside consultant. In collaboration with the Austin Economic Development Corporation and Urban Land Institute Austin, the consultant will look at how the city could have maximized benefits, equity and neighborhood impacts, with a report including recommendations expected in the fall.

Regarding Council’s focus on environmental and wage considerations involved in the reconstruction of the convention center, the memo notes that the forthcoming solicitation for design services for that project includes living wage considerations. The accompanying construction services solicitation includes language equivalent to Better Builder requirements, including living wage provisions.

The memo also states that there are no city-owned properties currently under redevelopment that are eligible for possible community benefit examination, other than those specifically exempted, including the Colony Park project in East Austin, the former HealthSouth parcel downtown, and the St. Johns/Home Depot property.

The memo added: “In the event a City-owned property becomes available that does not fall under one of these exceptions, staff will develop and recommend to Council a transparent process that includes Council priorities, parameters, and guidelines as well as include community input for the proposed development or redevelopment of that property.”

The Council direction could signal some of the city’s intentions for how it plans to move ahead with the convention center project, and possibly include significant public housing on a portion of the property as it is mostly demolished and reconstructed over an expected four-year time frame at a cost of more than $1 billion.

While the design and construction solicitations are expected to be ready for release to potential bidders this summer or fall, there is a pause on some needed steps in the process due to the ongoing renegotiation of some of the terms of bond debt related to the Hilton Austin hotel. At issue is how to avoid a default trigger included in the bond agreement that would come into play once the convention center is closed for construction.

That closure would have other far-reaching impacts to the local economy, with major events such as South by Southwest needing to reorganize panels, trade shows and other attractions across a number of smaller facilities in hotels throughout downtown during construction.

Regarding the amount of affordable housing the city should achieve in redevelopments using its land, Council members discussed whether to set a specific percentage of units or direct staff to bargain for as much as possible given the overall feasibility of each individual project.

Former Mayor Steve Adler said in December prior to the resolution’s approval that he worried giving a specific percentage of 85 percent affordable housing could give staff an unreasonable or unrealistic criteria to meet.

Photo by John Tornow from Dallas, TX, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.