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 local businesses in the path of a light-rail line. One of the most eye-popping transformations […]
District 9
Posted inParks
Waterloo Greenway gets $9M federal grant for second phase of parks system
The parks system that is expected to rehabilitate Waller Creek and create a series of parks through downtown Austin has received a $9 million federal grant to reconstruct and enhance a portion of parkland between Lady Bird Lake and Fourth Street. The grant comes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with funding from the […]
Posted inPreservation
Iron Bear demolition paused as landmark commission considers historic designation
With its fate far from certain, the proposed demolition of the warehouse that is home to Austin’s Iron Bear has been put on hold after the city’s Historic Landmark Commission initiated historic zoning on the structure. An outpouring of support for the beloved LGBTQ bar moved commissioners to move forward with designating the building at […]
Posted inPreservation
Controversial Fourth Street high-rise gears up for first public hearing with landmark commission
The Historic Landmark Commission’s architectural review committee hosted an unusually full conference room on Monday, as developers revealed their initial rendering of a 40-floor high-rise that would occupy the majority of a block in the center of Austin’s warehouse district. Houston-based Hanover Company intends to partially demolish structures at 201-213 W. Fourth St. to make […]
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 inDevelopment
Affordable housing takes center stage in Statesman PUD debate
City Council Member Kathie Tovo revealed during Tuesday’s work session that she will be seeking a major change to the proposed planned unit development on the former Statesman site on Lady Bird Lake. The Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for the site, which is currently proposed to include 1,378 residential units, 150,000 square feet of […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark commissioners stall Travis Heights demolition
Faced with the proposition of losing another historic home in Travis Heights, Historic Landmark commissioners have pushed their decision to another day. On the table is the total demolition of the 1937 house at 1803 Kenwood Ave. in order to build a two-story home with an in-ground pool on the lot. Since the house is […]
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 inPreservation
West Sixth Street’s Iron Bear faces demolition
The Iron Bear, an LGBTQ-friendly bar “for bears, by bears” that is open to all, is facing the prospect of relocating. A permit to demolish the bar’s West Sixth location is currently being reviewed by the city. The demolition permit sparked debate over the building’s architectural character, historic significance and community value during February’s Historic […]
Posted inAustin
Downtown court relocation plans draw mounting criticism
Resistance appears to be growing to a slate of resolutions on the agenda for Thursday’s City Council meeting that would lead to the permanent relocation of the Downtown Austin Community Court to a circa-1800s municipal building on West Eighth Street. The resolutions would follow action taken in February on the proposed move, allocating $27 million […]
Posted inRoads
I-35 expansion could destroy a 70-unit affordable housing complex. TxDOT didn’t notice at first.
The Texas Department of Transportation overlooked a 70-unit affordable housing complex when tallying how many homes could be destroyed by a move to widen Interstate 35 through Central Austin. Aria Grand, an apartment community in the Travis Heights neighborhood that opened in 2019, was omitted from the initial count of residential displacements in TxDOT’s early analysis of the expansion […]
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 […]