The Planning Commission has backed the latest project by local affordable housing developer Foundation Communities, recommending Multifamily-Moderate Density (MF-4) zoning for an 8-acre, church-owned property at 2105 Parker Lane in Southeast Austin. The Parker Apartments will offer 135 units affordable to households at or below 60 percent area median income, in addition to a learning […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inHousing
Council OKs $22 million in low-income housing bonds
After hearing complaints Thursday from several of her constituents, District 2 City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes announced during Council’s meeting as the board of the Austin Housing Finance Corporation that she would vote against bond funding for a 179-unit, low-income, multifamily housing complex. Back in November 2019, before Fuentes joined City Council, Council acting as […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission recommends making Chalmers Avenue block car-free
The Planning Commission said at its Feb. 9 meeting that the city should allow Chalmers Avenue between East Third and East Fourth streets to become a car-free zone, with pedestrian and bike paths and green space replacing the asphalt. The proposed “urban park of sorts” is part of the Pathways at Chalmers Court public housing […]
Posted inHousing
Planning commissioners: We’re not building enough affordable housing
Planning commissioners expressed concern this week about the lack of progress made toward the city’s affordable housing production goals. The discussion followed a presentation of the recently released Strategic Housing Blueprint Scorecard, which shows how much affordable housing has been created in relation to the blueprint‘s annual targets. “Yes, we’re building more affordable housing,” said Commissioner […]
Posted inDevelopment
HealthSouth redevelopment moves forward
As she made the motion to move the HealthSouth project forward Wednesday, Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison added some requests to Council Member Kathie Tovo’s long list of asks for the team working on the exclusive negotiating agreement with Aspen Heights Partners. That agreement will provide a framework for negotiating the developer’s lease of the […]
Posted inHousing
County endorses Decker Lake affordable housing project
The Travis County Commissioners Court held a public hearing Tuesday regarding a developer’s application for a Resolution of No Objection for the Decker Lake Apartments, which, if approved, will be located on Decker Lake Road, adjacent to the Travis County Expo Center. Though the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the resolution, recently elected Commissioner Ann […]
Posted inHousing
Austin created a program to pay struggling tenants’ rent. Some say it added to stress.
Petra Antonio and her husband, Domingo Quiroz, got Covid-19 in September. Antonio said she felt OK, but Quiroz had a fever and a cough that kept him awake at night. He wanted to avoid going to the hospital, because he believed from news reports that if you’re sick enough with the coronavirus to need hospitalization, […]
Posted inHousing
Affordable housing proposals advance after outcry over gentrification, institutional racism
Charges of institutional racism and bias in housing policy engulfed a pair of votes at the Austin Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors meeting Thursday. The board, which is made up of all of the members of the Austin City Council, considered requests to authorize negotiating and executing agreements with development teams on two affordable […]
Posted inHousing
Thousands of potential units in projects certified so far under Affordability Unlocked program
A city bonus program to spur more affordable housing has already played a role in several income-restricted projects across Austin. Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department staff and affordable housing developers provided an update on the Affordability Unlocked program to City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee on Tuesday morning. Affordability Unlocked offers waivers or easements […]
Posted inHousing
City unveils affordable housing and transit dashboard ahead of Project Connect
With a historic investment in public transit and affordable housing on the Nov. 3 ballot, the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department has launched an interactive map to track proximity of income-restricted housing stock to potential stations along the city’s transportation priority network. The tool, which was demonstrated to City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee […]
Posted inHousing
Govalle neighborhood looks for compromise in affordable housing project
The city of Austin owns 5 acres of land on three adjacent properties at 1127-1131 Tillery St. Two of those acres are home to a grove of pecan trees that some in the neighborhood worry are in danger of being felled in order to construct affordable housing units. The Austin Housing Finance Corporation is working […]
Posted inHousing
City aims to fast-track displacement prevention program as Covid-19 destabilizes residents
The Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department is attempting to accelerate progress on the first effort of its Displacement Prevention programs as more households find themselves unable to pay monthly rent or home mortgages due to Covid-19. Erica Leak, policy and planning manager for the department, told City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee on Monday […]