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Planning

Dirty Martin's among a cluster of businesses slated to be forced out by light-rail line

When Austin voters approved the largest expansion of public transit in the city’s history, they signed up for higher property taxes to help pay for it. But now another cost of Project Connect is coming into focus: the loss of…

Council endorses changes to East 11th and 12th street development regulations

Before a troubled history of urban renewal and disinvestment led the city to declare the areas blighted, 11th and 12th streets were once thriving corridors in East Austin’s Black community. Now, the city is shepherding land use changes along the…

Funding gaps, underground parking price tag plague DAC project

The team behind the Dougherty Arts Center replacement project unveiled design plans for the Butler Shores facility to a room full of applause this past Monday. However, the mood following a parallel reveal at the Design Commission was not quite…

Downtown Commission wants private developer proposals for convention center expansion

The Downtown Commission wants the city to solicit proposals from private developers to pay for a portion of the expansion and reconstruction of the Austin Convention Center. At last week’s meeting, the commission approved a recommendation asking City Council to…

City opens applications for $20M in anti-displacement projects

The city is accepting proposals from community organizations involved in affordable housing and related services to apply for some of the $20 million available for anti-displacement efforts related to Project Connect. At a news conference Monday, leaders from the Austin…

Statesman PUD wins initial approval

One of the most anticipated redevelopment projects in Austin’s history has moved one step closer to approval.  City Council Thursday unanimously approved Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning on the first of three readings for the former Austin-American Statesman site, whose…

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Vela seeks new solutions for housing the homeless

Council Member Chito Vela has proposed that the city request the cash equivalent of on-site affordable housing upon approval of the Statesman planned unit development on Lady Bird Lake. Under his proposal, the money would go toward temporary shelter for…

In time for spring, Living Streets initiative making it easier to throw a block party

Just in time for spring, the Transportation Department stopped by the City Council Mobility Committee meeting to share progress on the Living Streets initiative passed by Council last October. The Living Streets program encourages the use of city streets as…

Planning Commission weighs in on mobility plan updates

As the city works to update the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, a 20-year transportation plan adopted in 2019, the Planning Commission was the latest body to comment on the proposed changes March 8.  City staffers propose two sets of changes…

Latest Rainey tower gets Planning Commission support

The Planning Commission has recommended increased density for 80 Rainey, a 550-foot-tall, 644-unit residential tower by developer Lincoln Ventures at 80 Rainey St.  The commission voted 11-0-1 on Feb. 22 to recommend increasing the floor area ratio (a measure of density)…

Council approves anti-displacement funding for year two of Project Connect

Forty-one million dollars is officially on its way to the affordable housing pipeline as of last Thursday, when City Council resolved to allocate funding from Project Connect’s $300 million anti-displacement budget in the next fiscal year. The resolution, sponsored by…

Industry expert pokes holes in city’s convention center expansion plan

A presentation to the Downtown Commission last week largely refuted the need to expand the Austin Convention Center. Commissioners will revisit the issue at their March meeting. The proposed expansion has been an issue for the commission since last fall…

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