City Council is convening Nov. 30 to discuss what Mayor Steve Adler has called one of Austin’s “greatest present challenges” – housing supply. In a City Council Message Board post co-authored with Council Member Alison Alter last Wednesday, Adler outlined the strategy up for discussion at the special session: allowing residential housing units in commercially […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inZoning
ZAP votes against rezoning for affordable housing project, the Rhett
The Zoning and Platting Commission Tuesday recommended denying a rezoning for the Rhett, an affordable housing project at 1000 East Yager Lane in North Austin. The commission’s vote comes as the city falls short on its affordable housing production goals. ZAP also recently failed to recommend a rezoning for a separate affordable housing project. All […]
Posted inHousing
The average monthly rent in Austin is now $1,500. Prices are rising at the fastest pace ever.
Elisa Regulski was getting desperate. The 29-year-old’s lease on an apartment in South Austin was days away from ending, but after putting in half a dozen applications she still didn’t have a place to move. “I wasn’t sleeping very well,” she said. “If you were to ask my friends, they would say that was pretty […]
Posted inHousing
City failed to meet its affordable housing goals in 2020
Not one City Council district met its affordable housing production goals for 2020, according to the most recent annual scorecard released by nonprofit HousingWorks Austin. The report comes as soaring rents and home prices drive the need for more affordable housing in the city. The nonprofit, in a joint press release with the city’s Housing […]
Posted inZoning
ZAP fails to recommend rezoning for 100 percent affordable apartments
A tie vote at the Zoning and Platting Commission last Tuesday means that the rezoning for Fox Hollow, an affordable housing project, goes to City Council without ZAP’s recommendation. Half of the commission sided with neighbors who say the site at 2117 Brandt Road in South Austin is not the place for dense development, while […]
Posted inZoning
Developer sidesteps valid petition, drawing Council members’ ire
Five City Council members voted against an affordable housing project in Northeast Austin after the developer skirted a valid petition by reducing the requested rezoning area. The case still passed on first reading Thursday, with six votes in favor, but those opposed sent a clear message discouraging the practice. “I think it changes the rules […]
Posted inHousing
Housing affordability report points to a need for greater disbursement
Austin may look good on paper as one of the hottest housing markets in the country, but a closer inspection of each City Council district reveals a disparate picture of economic vitality, according to the findings of a 2020 report on housing affordability. “While the city of Austin has seen overall gains in home sale […]
Posted inHousing
With the help of city subsidies, over 3,000 affordable homes are in the pipeline
The Housing and Planning Department presented an update on the city’s development subsidy programs for affordable housing at Tuesday’s Housing and Planning Committee. “We know that it’s not enough, but we are proud of seeing that pipeline get filled,” said James May, community development manager with the department. “This solution of the city coming in […]
Posted inHousing
Espero at Rutland offers hope for the homeless
At next week’s meeting, City Council, acting as the board of directors of the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, is expected to approve funding for a 171-unit supportive housing development at 1934 Rutland Drive. In building and operating Espero at Rutland, AHFC will partner with Caritas of Austin and the Vecino Group, a national low-income tax credit […]
Posted inHousing
Report pushes local philanthropies to help solve housing crisis
Austin Community Foundation is encouraging local philanthropic organizations to get more involved in addressing the housing affordability crisis in Central Texas, considered the root cause of the area’s growing homeless population. A recently released report, “Housing Affordability in Central Texas,” looks at the data surrounding affordability and offers 13 steps that foundations and other well-endowed […]
Posted inHousing
Council approves rezoning for Foundation Communities project, quashing valid petition
A 100 percent affordable apartment project is coming soon to Southeast Austin. City Council has approved a rezoning for the Parker Apartments, a project by affordable housing developer Foundation Communities with 135 income-restricted units catering to families. Council members voted 10-0 on Thursday, with Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison off the dais, to grant Multifamily-Medium […]
Posted inHousing
Working-class housing fund eyes more acquisitions as demand, cost pressures grow
An investment fund focused on preserving working-class housing in Austin is nearing its first property acquisition of 2021, and moving ahead with its reactivation after the slowdown in 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Austin Housing Conservancy Fund is expected to close on the purchase of another multifamily property in June or July, with […]