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 by an STR working group and adopted at Wednesday’s commission meeting, focused on three priorities: […]
Housing
Posted inHousing
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 housing initiative that’s a collaborative effort between Foundation Communities and the Texas State Affordable Housing […]
Posted inPlanning
HealthSouth redevelopment scenarios spell out options for affordable housing downtown
The Housing Department has presented City Council with the four scenarios most likely to spur redevelopment of the former HealthSouth site on the eastern edge of downtown. A memo from Housing Director Mandy DeMayo spells out for Council the findings of Economic & Planning Systems Inc. in its analysis of how the city can adjust […]
Posted inHousing
Austin gave families $1,000 a month for a year. Most of the money was spent on housing.
People who received $1,000 a month from the city of Austin for a year spent the bulk of the cash on housing, according to a new study. Cities across the country, including Cambridge, Mass., and Ann Arbor, Mich., have begun piloting these guaranteed income programs, also called universal basic income programs. Under the programs, low-income […]
Posted inHousing
A dozen affordable housing projects face tight race for state tax credits
On Thursday, City Council will consider plans for 11 housing developments across the city that could receive state money to fund the creation of affordable housing. Nearly 1,100 units are in the works for the projects, which if approved will compete for 9 percent tax credits from the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) […]
Posted inHousing
Short-term rentals come under Tourism Commission scrutiny, with Council action expected this year
Members of the Tourism Commission signaled this week that they intend to ask City Council to pursue new policies covering the short-term rental industry and the proliferation across the city of residences acting as de facto hotels. At Wednesday’s meeting, commissioners heard from residents, including Stephanie Ashworth, co-founder of the Austin-based Texas Neighborhood Coalition, who […]
Posted inHousing
Disability committee targets accessible housing needs for next city budget
Members of the city’s disability committee want to focus requests for next year’s budget on addressing the shortage of housing affordable for those who receive federal or state disability assistance, which typically falls short of the local threshold for affordable housing. Last month’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities featured presentations and […]
Posted inHousing
Foundation Communities seeks emergency funds and eyes coming apartment surge
Affordable housing nonprofit Foundation Communities has put out the call to raise an additional $50,000 to help cover emergency needs for low-income residents at risk of losing their homes. The group, which provides a number of support services to help people stay in their homes, experienced a rush of requests over the holiday season and […]
Posted inHousing
City seeing mixed results halfway through Strategic Housing Blueprint
The city is seeing mixed results halfway through the Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint adopted by City Council in 2017. After five years, the city is on track to meet goals aimed at preserving affordable housing and building new housing in some areas of town. However, the city continues to be far behind on its district-based […]
Posted inHousing
Labor, affordability remain concerns in strong Austin real estate sector
Austin’s diverse and growing economy has kept the Central Texas region one of the most attractive real estate markets in the country in recent years, but local developers see some recurring issues – affordability, land use policy and the local labor supply – impacting the construction of housing and other building types. A recent Urban […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Austin to allow more homes on one plot of land in the pursuit of cheaper housing
In an attempt to encourage the construction of middle-class housing, Austin voted Thursday to amend land use rules to let property owners build more homes in neighborhoods restricted to one family living in one house on one plot of land. City Council members voted 9-2 in favor of the changes, which will allow developers to construct up to […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Amendments, memos point to finer steps for implementing HOME initiative
With City Council slated to decide the fate of the HOME initiative today, a last bit of analysis from city staff appears to back the intent and approach of the push to add more housing stock throughout the city. In a memo released Tuesday, Housing Department Director Rosie Truelove responded to some of the 127 […]