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Housing
Austin will spend $87 million on property in Southeast Austin for affordable housing
City Council voted Thursday to spend $87 million to buy 107 acres of land in Southeast Austin for affordable housing. Tokyo Electron, which makes semiconductors and display production equipment, announced in February that it was moving from the site. The city…
Housing • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • Mar 22, 2024
A push for more affordable housing falls flat at Planning Commission
A new tower planned for downtown sparked debate about Austin’s density bonus program at the most recent meeting of the city’s Planning Commission. The density bonus program essentially trades increased development entitlements for a number of community benefits, including things…
Housing • By Elizabeth Pagano • Mar 20, 2024
City seeks feedback from disability community on five-year federal housing plan
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities heard a briefing last week from the Housing Department, which is seeking input from Austin residents with disabilities to identify the greatest community needs that could be addressed using federal funds from the…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 14, 2024
Author, advocate explores universal income among solutions for homelessness
A San Francisco-based nonprofit group focused on helping people who are homeless is expanding basic income payments, with results that they hope can win over local elected officials willing to try the programs using public money. Kevin Adler, founder of…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 11, 2024
Council gets briefed on improved path to affordable housing
Now that the state Legislature has added more guardrails to a financing mechanism for affordable housing developments, Austin officials are exploring how to proceed with plans to put more housing on the ground under the welcomed reforms. At its work…
Housing • By Amy Smith • Mar 7, 2024
AHFC approves $50M to fund more than 1,000 affordable, permanent supportive housing units
The city has approved more than $50 million in housing funds that will create more than 1,000 units of affordable housing, hundreds of which will serve as permanent supportive housing for people who are currently homeless. Last week, the Austin…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 5, 2024
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Adjusted density bonus program pushes housing, affordability on commercial properties
Following a December court ruling that invalidated three changes to the city’s Land Development Code, City Council has approved an ordinance change that promotes housing density by using many of the components of the now-obsolete Vertical Mixed Use 2 ordinance.…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 4, 2024
Austin apartments boomed and rents went down. Now, some builders are dismantling the cranes.
Ben Schwertner won’t pay next month’s rent. The 28-year-old from Lubbock isn’t forgoing payment out of protest or because he can’t afford it. He’s not paying because he doesn’t have to. When Schwertner signed a lease for a one-bedroom apartment…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Feb 29, 2024
Social services, housing policies seen as national challenges in addressing homelessness
Leaders in the movement to provide housing for homeless people agree there are more resources from the private, philanthropic and public spheres to fund projects, but the challenges of managing many demands and community priorities continue to slow their progress.…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 26, 2024
Committee hears about need for more rental assistance money
Members of the City Council Housing and Planning Committee heard about the dire straits that many renters face, not just in Austin but across the country. Community displacement prevention officer Nefertitti Jackmon told the committee on Tuesday that the program…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Feb 21, 2024
Tourism Commission proposes easier licensing among short-term rental solutions
The Tourism Commission has given City Council a list of 10 recommendations regarding the growing short-term rental economy. It stops short of pushing for formal agreements with vacation rental websites such as Airbnb and Vrbo. The recommendations, which were created…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 16, 2024
Travis County embraces proposed Burleson Studios project
On the heels of a difficult vote on an increasingly controversial initiative for a survey on homelessness, housing once again topped the agenda at the Travis County Commissioners Court on Feb. 6. The court considered two motions on Burleson Studios, a transitional…
