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 Housing Finance Corporation and the Housing and Planning Department explained that there is about $64 […]
Planning
Posted inPlanning
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 19 acres of offices and parking currently sit vacant next to Lady Bird Lake. “This […]
Posted inPlanning
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 people experiencing homelessness. “Getting our neighbors off the street today would do far more good […]
Posted inPlanning
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 recreational space by closing residential blocks to car traffic. Once implemented, residents will be able […]
Posted inPlanning
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 to the ASMP. First, they plan to add language emphasizing the need for a transportation […]
Posted inPlanning
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) on the site from 15:1 to 20:1 with Commissioner Solveij Rosa Praxis abstaining. The 49-story […]
Posted inPlanning
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 Council Member Ann Kitchen, commits $21 million toward existing housing development assistance programs with the […]
Posted inPlanning
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 when it formed a working group to gather information on the project that would likely […]
Posted inPlanning
Environmental Commission recommends denial of city water services to entertainment complex
Plans to develop 70 acres adjacent to the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve into a mega entertainment complex went off course last night when the Environmental Commission unanimously voted to recommend denying the request to extend water and wastewater service to the area. The yet-to-be-constructed Violet Crown Amphitheater is centered around a venue that could host a […]
Posted inPlanning
Eureka Holdings right-of-way acquisition moves forward despite neighborhood objections
Homewood Heights residents took an unusual approach to resist development this past Tuesday, requesting that the Urban Transportation Commission reject a right-of-way vacation on an unmaintained and unused street. Despite concerns the vacation would reinforce hazardous traffic conditions, the commission recommended approving the application to vacate the section of Harvey Street in a 6-0-1 vote, […]
Posted inPlanning
MACC board wants questions answered before approving expansion plan
Leaders from the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center want the public to have more input on plans to expand the Rainey Street facility, because of concerns early planning documents don’t provide enough details about public access and how large events would fit there. Last week, the MACC advisory board delayed taking any action […]
Posted inPlanning
Council still has many questions about waterfront tax zone
Anyone expecting definitive answers about how the city will pay for improvements for the South Central Waterfront zone after a lengthy discussion at Tuesday’s City Council work session was likely disappointed. At the end of reports from the city’s financial and housing staff, Council still had numerous questions. Mayor Steve Adler, who has been a […]