About seven years ago, Lynn Meredith and her husband moved into a high-rise downtown. Meredith can see the state Capitol from her building, and over the years, she’s watched as new skyscrapers have sprung up around the Capitol, while some other construction plans have fallen through. “Since we are downtown residents and we are interested […]
Syeda Hasan
Posted inHousing
Housing repair funds, 3-D printed homes pitched as affordability solutions
For the past several weeks, nine local nonprofits, government agencies and private companies have been mapping out new solutions to the city’s housing affordability problem. Last night, they presented their ideas at the Impact Hub, a co-working space on North Lamar, which organized the effort. Ashley Phillips, managing director of Impact Hub, said the process […]
Posted inAustin
Trump administration push for citizenship question on census alarms critics
Watchdog groups are alarmed by a Department of Justice request to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. The agency says the information is needed to enforce the Voting Rights Act, specifically a section that bans racial discrimination. “It’s just a ridiculous political statement and doesn’t hold water given the facts,” said Phil […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Austin fields eight potential sites for new soccer stadium and practice space
City Council is weighing eight potential sites to house a professional soccer stadium and practice space after the Ohio-based Columbus Crew soccer team expressed an interest in moving here. But Council members decided to hold off on a final decision for now, postponing a vote until Feb. 15. Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department issued a […]
Posted inHousing
Council approves funding for study on housing discrimination
City Council is moving forward with plans for the region’s first fair housing assessment. The effort aims to shed light on issues of housing discrimination across Central Texas. The federal Fair Housing Act was designed to protect people from discrimination when renting, buying or financing a home, but biased practices persist in cities across the […]
Posted inHousing
Austin residents protest mobile home investment class
A few dozen protesters gathered in downtown Austin on Friday to march down East Fifth Street and into the Westin hotel, where a class on investing in mobile home parks was reportedly being held. The protesters, dressed in graduation caps and gowns, held signs calling for justice and a “diploma” from Colorado-based Mobile Home University […]
Posted inTransit
Cap Metro plan up for a vote today
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors is set to vote today on a major overhaul of its bus system. If approved, the changes would take effect in June, changing more than half of all routes in the area. While some buses would run more often, other routes would be eliminated. Some are calling […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Austin wants to make it easier to build garage apartments
City Council took a step yesterday to streamline the process of building and remodeling homes by approving the Family Homestead Initiative. The resolution calls for the city to identify all the regulations and costs associated with the process. Council Member Delia Garza, who sponsored the measure, said she wants to create a separate permitting process […]
Posted inDevelopment
Central Health taps Baltimore-based firm for Brackenridge Hospital redevelopment
Central Health has selected a firm to redevelop Brackenridge Hospital. The Central Health Board of Managers announced it’s chosen Baltimore-based Wexford Science and Technology to revamp the hospital, which closed its doors for good in May after more than a century of service in Austin. Brackenridge long served as a safety-net hospital for low-income patients, […]
Posted inDevelopment
New apartments could be coming to Northwest Austin shopping center
A popular shopping center in Northwest Austin could be redeveloped to include hundreds of apartments. The 17-acre site at 9828 Great Hills Trail, owned by Great Hills Retail Inc., currently includes a shopping center, restaurants, a movie theater and a bank. It will be up to City Council to decide whether to allow for new […]
Posted inLand Development Code
What will CodeNEXT mean for Austin’s neighborhood plans?
At a CodeNEXT meeting earlier this month, residents from across Austin raised concerns about one perceived change: that the city’s new Land Development Code would scrap their neighborhood plans. Jorge Rousselin, the city’s project manager on CodeNEXT, said that’s just not true. “There has been no change to how we are addressing neighborhood plans through […]
Posted inHousing
As foreclosures rise, has the Greater Austin housing market finally peaked?
Realtor Barrett Raven was showing one of his clients a duplex off of Cameron Road. Matthew Weilbacher was interested in buying one of the units, maybe the entire duplex, but he was wrestling with how to make use of the home’s oddly sloping backyard. Weilbacher peered over the neighbor’s fence and decided he could build […]