Seeking to bring more foot traffic to an area with an increasing number of vacant storefronts, the Downtown Austin Alliance is working to partner local artists and musicians with property owners interested in exposing their spaces to new potential businesses. So far, two spaces have been named as participants in the Downtown Austin Space Activation […]
Districts
Posted inAustin
As downtown sees slowing of development, new programs aim to promote activity
In delivering its annual State of Downtown report that showed some slowdown in development efforts in the central business district, the Downtown Austin Alliance announced two new efforts intended to improve quality of life and bring more activity throughout the downtown area. The announcements were part of the group’s Future of Downtown event held Wednesday, […]
Posted inPreservation
Planning Commission backs historic zoning for east side beauty shop
Despite its recent history, the Planning Commission unanimously endorsed historic landmark status for East Austin’s Fashionette Beauty Shop as a step toward more equitable historic preservation this week. The Fashionette Beauty Shop and McDonald Jackson House have stood at East 13th and Bob Harrison streets since the early 1900s. Staff and the Historic Landmark Commission […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Red River music venues push Council on funding expected from February resolution
Leaders of the Red River Cultural District are pushing City Council members and staff to carry out a February resolution that was intended to secure annual funding to help planning and marketing efforts for the downtown cluster of live music venues. Earlier this week, the RRCD put out a call to its stakeholders and the […]
Posted inRoads
UT pledges $13.5 million to cover I-35 from Dean Keeton to 15th Street
The University of Texas is making a $13.5 million down payment to cover Interstate 35 from 15th Street to Dean Keeton, a feat that will be made possible by a state project to widen and lower the highway through Central Austin. UT System Regents voted Thursday to approve a funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark Commission greenlights demolition for former Mary Lee School campus
A former special education facility for mentally disabled girls may soon be slated for demolition and redevelopment after the plans earned the Historic Landmark Commission’s seal of approval last Monday. The seven-building campus that was once home to the Mary Lee School of Special Education – located at 400 W. Live Oak St., about 1.5 […]
Posted inAustin
Texas Music Museum seeks city assistance in finding new home
The city may soon explore assistance for the nonprofit Texas Music Museum in East Austin, including finding a new location for the facility that is in danger of losing its East 11th Street home. On Monday, the Music Commission heard a presentation from Clay Shorkey, president and caretaker of the museum’s thousands of artifacts and […]
Posted inPreservation
State preservation case may halt plans for new athletic facility on UT campus
Plans to bulldoze the historic Steve Hicks School of Social Work building on the University of Texas campus may soon be derailed, with an alumni-led campaign to secure landmark protections winning over the state’s Antiquities Advisory Board last month. Next, the case will advance to the Texas Historical Commission, where a favorable vote could trigger […]
Posted inHousing
Council OKs restrictive covenant for Southwest Parkway apartments
The owners of 9.6 acres of undeveloped land at 8413 Southwest Parkway are moving forward with plans to build a total of 438 apartments, including 219 units available to households earning 60 percent of the median family income, as well as 88 units reserved for families at or below 50 percent of the median family […]
Posted inPreservation
Historic east side home may not get the votes needed to preserve it
City Council surprised staff during Thursday’s zoning hearing when the vote to zone the Sinnigson House at 1100 E. Second St. as historic did not have the eight votes needed for final passage. The home was built in 1888. Although the Historic Landmark Commission and the Planning Commission endorsed the idea of zoning the front […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Downtown Commission suggests tweaks to ‘agent of change’ noise requirements
The Downtown Commission wants the city to take a more proactive role in a proposed new measure that seeks to address friction over noise levels between new residential developments and existing music venues. Last week’s meeting included a presentation on a pending requirement that would force developers building within 600 feet of a music venue […]
Posted inPlanning
New EV station will not charge forward in East Austin
Plans for an electric-vehicle charging lot spanning Pleasant Valley Road were thwarted by Planning Commission members who objected to its auto-centric nature at their last meeting. The project would have created two electric-vehicle charging parking lots flanking Pleasant Valley at Cesar Chavez Street. The easternmost lot is currently home to a vacant building and a […]