On Thursday City Council approved increased floor area ratio for three new towers in the Rainey Street area, bringing 1,000 more homes – 55 of them affordable – to the area. The approval of the towers may have consequences beyond Rainey. First, Council is set to increase the Downtown Density Bonus program’s community benefits requirements, which […]
Planning
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Neighbors tell ACC board: No concrete plant here
Neighbors of Austin Community College’s Pinnacle campus in Oak Hill begged the ACC Board of Trustees to reverse its apparent decision to allow a Texas Department of Transportation contractor to operate a concrete batch plant on the campus. About 20 neighbors told trustees at Monday’s meeting that the concrete plant, which is slated to begin operations […]
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Council discusses a recalibrated Downtown Density Bonus program
City Council members on Tuesday supported recalibrating the Downtown Density Bonus program to increase the community benefits developers must provide in exchange for more floor area ratio. The changes – should Council vote to implement them – could shape the skyline and impact the city’s supply of income-restricted affordable housing. “We’re applying an extremely outdated formula […]
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Panel weighs future potential of city’s health care innovation district
The battle over reconstructing Interstate 35, and the stalled Land Development Code update, are factors that continue to influence the shape and scope of the developing health care innovation district in the eastern section of downtown Austin. Those larger civic questions were among the points of discussion during a recent Urban Land Institute Austin panel […]
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Planning Commission throws support behind Springdale Green development
The Planning Commission last Tuesday recommended rezoning a 30-acre brownfield site in East Austin to make way for Springdale Green, a proposed 800,000-square-foot, mixed-use development. The commission voted 7-4 to support Planned Unit Development zoning, though only at the current building footprint. City staffers support the rezoning, as does the Environmental Commission. The development sits […]
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Council postpones vote on Rainey towers, Tovo pushes density bonus changes
Council Member Kathie Tovo previewed her upcoming push to change the downtown density bonus rules as part of her opposition to three new residential towers planned for the Rainey Street District. “I believe we need to have a policy conversation that was deferred from 2014 about what benefits should be embedded within our density bonus […]
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Planning Commission picks favorite Dougherty design option
On Tuesday, the Planning Commission weighed in on preliminary design options for the relocated Dougherty Arts Center, adding an important recommendation to feedback already collected from other boards, commissions and community members. The community arts center is currently located in an aging circa-1959 building at 1110 Barton Springs Road. “Dougherty is, as I’m sure everybody […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission recommends making Chalmers Avenue block car-free
The Planning Commission said at its Feb. 9 meeting that the city should allow Chalmers Avenue between East Third and East Fourth streets to become a car-free zone, with pedestrian and bike paths and green space replacing the asphalt. The proposed “urban park of sorts” is part of the Pathways at Chalmers Court public housing […]
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Former East Austin tank farm to become PUD
After years of failed proposals and persistent remediation efforts, the Environmental Commission unanimously voted last Wednesday to advance the development of a former East Austin tank farm into a mixed-use development called Springdale Green. Located near the intersection of Springdale Road and Airport Boulevard, the area, which sits on the Boggy Creek and Tannehill Branch watersheds, […]
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Planning Commission grants variance for ‘innovative’ office proposal
The Planning Commission on Tuesday approved an environmental variance for an office project at 1514 W. Koenig Lane, but not before working through the details of city environmental requirements that make developing the site tricky. Applicant Joel Levine plans to expand his law offices, currently located across the street, but needs a code variance to […]
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Environmental Commission endorses variance for new Concordia dorm
The Environmental Commission has recommended a variance for Concordia University in order to build a new residence hall on its campus in Northwest Austin. The university wants to construct another campus residence hall for students at 11400 Concordia University Drive off of FM 620. Kristy Nguyen, an environmental review specialist with the city’s Development Services […]
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New groups tee up, face off in ongoing Hancock golf course discussions
Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department has already faced pandemic-related delays over the past month in its efforts to gather feedback about the future of the 120-year old Hancock Golf Course. Meanwhile, a handful of vocal groups, some just weeks old, have put forward their own opposing plans. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going […]