The Housing Authority of Travis County hosted a ribbon-cutting celebration Thursday morning to honor the completion of the $10.4 million rehabilitation of two of its affordable housing communities. The project involved improvements to 51 units at Alexander Oaks in Oak Hill and 24 units at Summit Oaks Apartments in Northwest Austin. The units range from […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inHousing
Lessons for Austin abound in cities where crises produced affordable housing
The good news about Austin’s growing housing affordability crisis – if there can be such a thing – is that the city hasn’t suffered a natural disaster or a financial meltdown that would serve as the impetus to build new homes for low-income residents. But Austin and other growing cities can still learn from New […]
Posted inHousing
Council passes resolution to ease regulations on affordable housing projects
City Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday aimed at producing more affordable housing units in the city by easing regulations on subsidized developments. The resolution, authored by Council Member Greg Casar, instructs city staff to draft an ordinance that will exempt affordable housing projects from a number of key city development regulations. Those include parking […]
Posted inCity Council
Casar makes small changes to affordable housing resolution
City Council appears poised to approve a resolution aimed at easing regulations on affordable housing developers. At a Tuesday work session, Council members offered suggestions, but not significant criticism, of the measure drafted by Council Member Greg Casar. The proposal, which Casar has dubbed “Affordability Unlocked,” would exempt subsidized housing projects from numerous development regulations, […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Austin Housing Conservancy
Have you been wondering what Austin Housing Conservancy is all about? Well, the Austin Monitor has a show for you. Join David Steinwedell, president and CEO of Affordable Central Texas, as he sits down with reporter Jack Craver to discuss just that. It’s all embedded below: Austin Monitor Radio is produced in partnership with KOOP […]
Posted inHousing
City has tough decisions on affordable housing bond
The city’s affordable housing challenges were thrown into sharp relief during a presentation Tuesday morning by the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department to members of City Council. The presentation was before Council’s Housing and Planning Committee, but the chair, Council Member Greg Casar, had invited all of his colleagues to attend due to the […]
Posted inCity Council
Casar seeks to reduce parking, compatibility requirements for subsidized housing
City Council Member Greg Casar is proposing a measure aimed at maximizing the impact of low-income housing developments in Austin. The measure, which was unveiled Tuesday and will be on Council’s agenda Feb. 21, directs city staff to craft an ordinance that will allow subsidized housing developments to forgo many of the city’s land use […]
Posted inHousing
Workforce housing group eyes four apartment complex purchases in 2019
An investment group focused on preserving workforce housing units around Austin has announced plans to add 1,200 more apartment units to its portfolio in 2019. The Austin Housing Conservancy Fund expects to purchase four apartment complexes around the city this year in addition to the three complexes it bought in 2018 that gave it nearly […]
Posted inHousing
As shutdown drags on, low-income housing providers in Austin worry funding for rent could run out
Prak Property Management Inc. has been digging into savings to keep some of its low-income properties in Austin running. “It’s like a savings account that every month we are required to put a certain amount of dollars into for things like roofs, appliances, that sort of thing,” said Brad Prak, a management agent with the […]
Posted inCity Council
City’s federal housing funds in jeopardy
The city of Austin could lose a significant amount of federal funding if President Trump follows through on his threat to shut down the federal government on Dec. 21. Various national publications reported Trump making the threat if Congress refuses to authorize $5 billion for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. At about the same […]
Posted inCity Council
Minimum lot sizes: A roadblock for affordable housing?
Last week, Austin voters approved a record-busting $250 million for affordable housing, but a discussion during Thursday’s City Council meeting showed that building new housing isn’t simply a matter of having enough money. At issue is a small piece of vacant land that the city owns at 3000 Funston St., just east of MoPac Expressway […]
Posted inTravis County
Multifamily affordable housing breaks western Travis County development pattern
As the overwhelming support for Proposition A at last week’s election indicates, Austin-area residents want affordable housing as much as they need it. This fact is especially apparent following Travis County Commissioners Court’s support on Tuesday morning of a dense and affordable multifamily development to be built in an expensive, exclusively single-family neighborhood in the […]