A pair of new scenarios for redeveloping the former HealthSouth properties downtown could revive the city’s efforts to use the sites to provide hundreds of units of affordable housing. A memo released last week from Mandy DeMayo, interim director of the Housing Department, includes analysis of two new scenarios for the properties, which had been […]
Districts
Posted inZoning
Planning Commission postpones commercial rezoning of East Austin church
Though the Planning Commission voted at its most recent meeting to recommend commercial rezoning for the Alpha Seventh Day Adventist Church property on 51st Street, a posting error means that vote will need to take place again. The church community has advocated for expanding the church’s parking lot and creating latitude for future growth. Commissioners […]
Posted inHousing
Watson questions affordable housing in Airport Overlay
Mayor Kirk Watson has expressed serious concerns about a proposed affordable housing project within the flight path of Austin’s airport and has suggested changes that will prevent such development in the future. In a post on the City Council Message Board, Watson wrote, “Placing an affordable housing project in an area that would have a […]
Posted inRoads
Ambitious proposal for Congress Avenue includes pedestrian plazas, bike lanes
At its meeting last week, City Council’s Mobility Committee learned the details of a proposed ambitious redesign and reconstruction plan for Congress Avenue, which would convert the avenue into a more pedestrian-focused area over a number of possible phases. The project could fully transform Congress Avenue from Riverside Drive to 11th Street, creating pedestrian plazas, […]
Posted inElections
Vela, Guzmán and Herrin raise quality-of-life concerns in race for District 4
In the race for the District 4 seat on City Council, incumbent Chito Vela is facing four candidates, with the two most visible challengers – Monica Guzmán and Louis Herrin – notching their third and fourth races for City Council, respectively. Quality-of-life issues are the main concerns expressed by Vela, Guzmán and Herrin, the three […]
Posted inElections
West side District 10 candidates do not agree on much
There are just two candidates running for the District 10 City Council seat: Marc Duchen and Ashika Ganguly. While both have lived in West Austin for a number of years, Duchen, 46, has a longer track record. Duchen has an MBA and has served on the board of his homeowners’ association as well as the […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Board of Adjustment approves variances in the interest of health and safety
The Board of Adjustment heard a presentation on Tuesday from David Webber, of the Webber + Studio architectural design firm, who requested two variances for increased impervious coverage and floor area ratio at a property in Old West Austin. The property, located at 705 Brownlee Circle, is owned by Brad Hoskins. Currently, there is a […]
Posted inElections
Incumbent Mackenzie Kelly faces Krista Laine in D6 race
Council Member Mackenzie Kelly and her lone challenger, Krista Laine, will go head to head in the Nov. 5 election. Kelly touts her credentials as a promoter of all things public safety, while Laine says she will do better for the district in that area as well as others. One factor favoring Laine is that […]
Posted inPublic Safety
City considers acquiring new combined HQ for police, fire and EMS
Next week, City Council will consider approving a $107.8 million allocation to acquire an office campus along South MoPac Expressway that would serve as a consolidated headquarters for the city’s public safety agencies, which are located in outdated and cramped facilities across the city. If approved, the headquarters would house the Austin Police Department, Austin […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark commission stalls demo of midcentury Baptist church
As East Austin’s Rehoboth Primitive Baptist Church moves on to roomier digs up north, its congregation is preparing to say goodbye to its home of six decades in more ways than one. What was once holy ground at 5303 Samuel Huston Avenue landed on the Historic Landmark Commission’s radar last month, with a request from […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Austin Opera’s new HQ welcomes smaller arts orgs to the stage
Austin Opera leaders aim to turn the organization’s new headquarters and performance space into a bustling hub for arts groups increasingly pressured for space in Austin. Last week the group, which holds its major performances at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, announced the purchase of a 16,000-square-foot facility in Southeast Austin near Montopolis […]
Posted inElections
Part II: District 7 candidates share views on climate action, housing, public safety
This is Part II of a two-part series profiling the candidates running for Austin City Council’s District 7 seat. Read Part I here. Adam Powell Adam Powell, a former union organizer and state employee, believes that most of the impactful work on Council happens behind the scenes. “My goal is to be a Council member […]