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Housing
Council approves fee-in-lieu for more housing
Greg Anderson, director of operations for Austin Habitat for Humanity, pronounced his organization “happy, happy, happy” on Friday. The declaration came after City Council approved a deal that would allow Cielo Property Group to build a new mixed-use project with…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Apr 5, 2016
Council OKs more affordable housing funds
During last week’s State of Our City address, Mayor Steve Adler said it is projected that City Council will put $68.2 million into the city’s Housing Trust Fund over the next decade, not including funds from Pilot Knob. So where,…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Feb 22, 2016
Oracle: when a tech company expands in Austin
Demolition, it seems, follows Robin Wilkins. Wilkins, 54, moved into the Lakeview Apartments on South Lakeshore Boulevard after another apartment building she was living in was slated to be torn down. She stayed for five years, paying no more than…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jan 8, 2016
Zoning commission OKs northwest SMART homes
A speech by a neighbor denouncing a proposed SMART housing complex as dangerous and poorly planned didn’t stop the Zoning and Platting Commission from unanimously approving it at its meeting last Tuesday. The site plan for a 120-unit apartment complex…
Housing • By Jack Craver • Dec 22, 2015
Council moves to protect tenants from displacement
Following the recent controversy surrounding a Riverside Drive apartment complex demolition permit that displaced around 100 low-income families, City Council has taken a step toward establishing new rules to assist tenants in similar situations in the future. Council approved a…
Housing • By Tyler Whitson • Nov 13, 2015
Appraisal district, Mueller folks air differences
Some owners of affordable housing in the Mueller development have seen their homes’ appraised values double since 2013. One of those homeowners is Janeka Rector, whose home was appraised at $179,000 last year. Next year it will be appraised at…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Nov 3, 2015
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Code says STR licenses are a strain on staff
Short-term rentals such as those listed on Airbnb and HomeAway are a hot-button issue in Austin, and the city is at work trying to fix the problems that residents have drawn attention to in the past several months. Austin Code…
Housing • By Tyler Whitson • Oct 7, 2015
Committee zeros in on affordable housing
Lack of affordable housing, an issue that continued to plague Austin during the boom times of the last decade, was the main focus at the last Housing and Community Development Committee meeting. The city of Austin’s Neighborhood Housing and Community…
Housing • By Stephen Carlson • Oct 5, 2015
HousingWorks breaks down Austin's affordability
For the second year, HousingWorks Austin has taken a close look at the city’s household affordability crisis in each City Council District. The study has found some startling disparities. Perhaps the greatest contrast is the difference in distribution of subsidized…
Housing • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 4, 2015
RECA report on affordability blames city, neighbors
As the city struggles to provide development review services needed to ensure that its many regulations are being followed, the Real Estate Council of Austin reports that “Austin is steadily losing ground in its efforts to become a ‘beacon of…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Aug 13, 2015
County land deal could lead to new homeless shelter
Travis County is considering a real estate deal with the Salvation Army that could lead to a brand-new shelter for homeless women and children. During its regular voting session last week, the Commissioners Court voted to direct staff to begin…
Housing • By Caleb Pritchard • Aug 11, 2015
Report: Dangerous rental properties threaten tenants, city efforts remain “inadequate”
The city of Austin is failing to identify unsafe rental properties, failing to effectively monitor properties with repeated code violations and lacks the enforcement mechanisms needed to quickly address dangerous conditions at repeat offender properties. Those are the conclusions of…
