About the Author
Chad Swiatecki is a 20-year journalist who relocated to Austin from his home state of Michigan in 2008. He most enjoys covering the intersection of arts, business and local/state politics. He has written for Rolling Stone, Spin, New York Daily News, Texas Monthly, Austin American-Statesman and many other regional and national outlets.
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Most Popular Stories
- Latest State of Downtown report shows the city core’s businesses and housing are in transition
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Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Council votes to eliminate off-street parking requirements
City Council voted Thursday to eliminate requirements for minimum amounts of off-street parking on new construction projects, marking a shift in the city’s push to increase the amount of housing stock while decreasing development costs. The amendments to the city’s…
Land Development Code • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 3, 2023
City considering capital projects, private development as sites for underground power lines
Austin Energy and various city departments are studying how to bury selected sections of overhead power lines underground to reduce the impact of extreme weather disasters. The burying of lines, which in many cases also serve equipment for private communications…
Energy • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 2, 2023
Council has its eyes set on preparing for 2024 total solar eclipse
With Austin in the direct path of a rare solar eclipse that will take place April 8, 2024, city departments will soon begin preparing for many thousands of astronomy tourists who are expected to travel to Central Texas to get…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 1, 2023
Tuition drop at Concordia University seen as move to increase access, enrollment
In a bid to bolster enrollment that has slipped since the Covid-19 pandemic, Concordia University will reduce its published tuition cost by 40 percent beginning next school year, to $23,500. The change is a reduction as well as an acknowledgement…
Education • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 1, 2023
Mobility Committee laments state law curtailing city's power over driverless car companies
City Council members heard last week about the ongoing public safety concerns that the emerging autonomous vehicle industry has created in Austin. Last week’s Mobility Committee meeting saw a presentation from staff from the Transportation and Public Works Department as…
Transportation • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 30, 2023
Downtown church seeks community partners, not developers, in reimagining prime real estate
First Baptist Church of Austin has so far turned down tens of millions of dollars from developers looking to capitalize on the nearly 2 acres of downtown real estate it owns. Rather than cashing out and moving to the suburbs,…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 27, 2023
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Following ACL Fest, parks board calls for close look at Zilker Park health
Amid concerns over the impact on Zilker Park from this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, city parks staff said they have conducted the annual review of the festival and are beginning the work needed to replenish the park. The…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 26, 2023
Artists decry delay in city grant payments, putting some projects and events at risk
Arts commissioners have joined local artists in criticizing the city for the prolonged rollout of one of its newer grant programs, which has left some recipients without funding ahead of events they’d organized with expectations of using the city funds.…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 25, 2023
Public, private measures seen as key to increasing resilience against extreme weather, natural disasters
Local developers and planning leaders learned recently about the impacts that increasingly severe weather and natural disasters will have on their projects, and how public and private efforts can work together to reduce the damage. Among the areas of focus…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 24, 2023
Tourism Commission wants more transparency on hotel tax funding decisions for arts groups
Members of the Tourism Commission have signaled they want more transparency from the Economic Development Department regarding how Hotel Occupancy Tax dollars allocated for music, cultural arts and historic preservation programs are used. At its most recent meeting, the commission…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 23, 2023
Council pushes for pause on I-35 expansion, citing air quality concerns
Citing concerns over possible environmental and air quality impacts, City Council wants to delay the start of the reconstruction of Interstate 35. By a 7-3 vote, Council approved a resolution Thursday that asked the Texas Department of Transportation and Capital…
Roads • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 20, 2023
Citing construction concerns, city indefinitely extends moratorium on new street events
The city has indefinitely extended a long-standing moratorium on street events in response to the large number of private development and infrastructure projects slated for downtown and beyond in the coming years. A memo released last week by José Roig,…
