City Council appears ready to move ahead with two major contracts that will officially kick off the process of demolishing and reconstructing the Austin Convention Center. On Thursday, contracts totaling nearly $1.27 billion could confirm LMN/Page as the design and engineering firms for the project, while JE Dunn/Turner would be the construction managers for the […]
Chad Swiatecki
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.
Posted inWhispers
Enlist now for civil service tomorrow
Austin City Council is seeking applicants to fill two seats on the five-member Municipal Civil Service Commission. The seats are for two unexpired terms that run through May 2024, and applicants may also be considered for the follow-up three-year terms. The commission’s focus is the rules and regulations concerning those who work in civil service, […]
Posted inHousing
Tourism Commission joins staff in push for agreement with short-term rental companies
The Tourism Commission appears ready to push the city to come to an agreement with short-term rental platforms that will allow some regulation of the industry and allow the collection of millions of dollars in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue each year. Last week, the commission voted to form a working group focused on the long-standing […]
Posted inAustin
Hiring headache: $25B in mobility projects will require 10,000 new workers every year through 2040
With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings of an analysis shared last week with local political and business leaders during a summit […]
Posted inPlanning
Commissioners want action, precision on overlays for equitable transit-oriented developments
As planning and zoning strategies for areas around transit corridors are developed over the next year, members of the Urban Transportation Commission want the city to make the density of in-process transit-oriented developments one of the highest priorities. At last week’s meeting, the commission received an update from Warner Cook, a planner with the Transportation […]
Posted inPolice
APD pushed to improve training, engagement with Austin’s disabled community
Disability advocates in Austin want the Austin Police Department to include training and research on the lives of people with disabilities as part of basic academy education, while encouraging department staff to build stronger relationships with the local disabled community. Those were some of the recommendations included in a recent report from the Office of […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Education, community building among ‘start small’ goals for city’s push for music hubs
The push to establish creative and music hubs in the city’s three ethnic cultural centers could begin with small educational and community-building workshops before a possible bond vote in 2026 to raise money for construction and equipment for the facilities. Feedback from three open houses held in September – one each for the Emma S. […]
Posted inBicycles
Bike parking gets support in Urban Transportation Commission’s call to end parking requirements
City Council may add changes to bike parking requirements to a November resolution that will finalize the removal of parking minimums from the Land Development Code. The Urban Transportation Commission recently voted to recommend Council adopt the ordinance changes on parking minimums called for in a May resolution, while also in most cases requiring bicycle […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Live Music Fund grant payments expected this week after month-plus delay
Grant recipients from the city’s Live Music Fund pilot program were expected to receive the initial 50 percent portion of their award by today, more than a month later than they were initially told they would receive the money. The delay in the grant disbursal has caused some promoters to consider delaying or canceling the […]
Posted inHousing
Developer of parking-free downtown apartments surrenders building to lender
A parking-free, 30-unit apartment building that gained attention as one of the first attempts to bring “missing middle” housing downtown has been turned over to its lender after failing to generate enough occupancy to operate successfully. Weaver Buildings, the company that created the Capitol Quarters project on Nueces Street near 12th Street, announced this week […]
Posted inCity Hall
Report finds widespread action needed to prepare city for future weather emergencies
The city has received dozens of steps for staff at all levels to take to reduce the impact of future weather emergencies. The full after-action report for the February 2023 winter storm evaluates problems experienced during the freeze that disrupted power and other city services for over a week in some areas. A memo released […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility Committee airs financial, environmental concerns over I-35 expansion
City Council members expressed a variety of concerns about the Interstate 35 expansion through downtown Austin, including a desire that the state and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization delay funding approvals on the $4.5 billion project until concerns over construction-related greenhouse gas emissions can be addressed. Last week, Council’s Mobility Committee approved a recommendation that […]