City Council has allocated $5.1 million of bond money to the Rally Austin economic development entity, which is expected to use some of the money to purchase and preserve the Museum of Human Achievement (MoHA) arts space in East Austin. Council approved the transfer of funds last week in a resolution that named MoHA and […]
Districts
Posted inPolice
Downtown Austin safety team increases patrol in response to APD staffing shortage
Austin has been grappling with a serious police understaffing problem, making patrolling the downtown area harder. In an effort to fill that gap, the Downtown Austin Alliance created a new safety team to hit the streets. The DAA, a nonprofit organization that manages the Downtown Public Improvement District, began the effort in May and has […]
Posted inPreservation
Three ‘no’ votes end try for historic zoning in East Austin
Despite efforts from Preservation Austin and approval from two city commissions, the small historic house at 1100 East Second St. failed to get support from the nine City Council members needed for it to be designated historic and avoid demolition. Both the Historic Landmark Commission and the Planning Commission recommended historic designation for the Sinnigson […]
Posted inPlanning
With fate of Blocks 16 and 18 decided, focus could turn to 11th and 12th Street corridors
City Council has given the OK for the Urban Renewal Agency to move forward in negotiations with the developer selected last month to lead the redevelopment of the 900 and 1100 blocks of East 11th Street. Known in city planning circles as Blocks 16 and 18, the roughly 2 acres of mostly vacant land will […]
Posted inAustin
Arts group blasts memo blocking city from purchasing historic church space
The nonprofit Austin Creative Alliance has pushed back against a memo from city staff that appears to have derailed an effort by City Council members to preserve a pair of East Austin properties that serve as the group’s headquarters and cultural space. For more than a year, ACA leaders had discussed with city staff and […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark commission considers imposing historic zoning for neglected east side building slated for demolition by Eureka
Dallas-based real estate developer Eureka Holdings is once again ruffling feathers on 12th Street, with an application to demolish a century-old storefront at the Comal Street intersection meeting some resistance from the city’s Historic Landmark Commission. The two-story building has lived many lives, from a German beer hall weathering Prohibition to Civil Rights-era meeting place […]
Posted inElections
City candidates’ financial filings are in for the latest fundraising period
Monday was the deadline to file campaign finance reports for members of City Council and other candidates in the November election. No one was surprised last week when the Austin Monitor reported that Mayor Kirk Watson had raised more than $710,000 between mid-April and June 30, probably more than his opponents are likely to raise […]
Posted inPreservation
After decades on the back burner, revitalization efforts at historic Black cemetery are in full swing
After an uphill battle for recognition, things are looking up for Bethany Cemetery, with a vote at this month’s Historic Landmark Commission meeting initiating the site’s historic zoning process. The cemetery, founded in 1893 by and for Black Austinites, houses the graves of dozens of enslaved people later freed, Buffalo Soldiers and early Black settlers. […]
Posted inDevelopment
Developer expects to reach agreement for Crestview project this fall
The firm selected to lead in the redevelopment of a former utility yard in Crestview doesn’t expect the city’s recent changes to land use for transit-oriented developments to impact its plans for the site that has long been earmarked for substantial new housing. In May, the Austin Housing Finance Corporation voted to pursue a development […]
Posted inParks
After lake drownings, safety upgrades come to Rainey Street trailhead
Lee esta historia en español More than a year after community members called for better lighting and safety measures along a portion of Lady Bird Lake near Rainey Street, permanent upgrades are finally nearing completion. The pleas and demands came from family and friends of two men who drowned in the lake last spring near […]
Posted inTransportation
Work to build ‘wishbone’ bridge begins, 18-month detour ahead
Construction starts today on a pedestrian bridge that will stitch together the biggest gap in the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake. Dubbed the “wishbone” bridge – the first of its kind in Austin – the $25 million project will complete a missing link in the city’s most popular trail. But it […]
Posted inPlanning
Urban Renewal Board makes pick for Council from two redevelopment plans for Blocks 16 and 18
A plan that looks to combine housing, retail, restaurants and assorted cultural facilities has received an important vote of support in the effort to redevelop two signature blocks of East Austin. On Monday, the Urban Renewal Board voted 4-1 to recommend the Pleasant Hill Collaborative development plan to City Council as the preferred package for […]