City Council is trying to figure out how the latest draft of the proposed Land Development Code, known as CodeNEXT, could shape the future of affordable housing. At a meeting of the Housing and Planning Committee Tuesday, Council members drilled down into proposed changes to the density bonus program, one of the city’s most effective […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inAustin
Council considers gentrification and ‘right to return’ policy
On Tuesday, City Council members got their first glimpse at a study they voted to authorize that examines gentrification in Austin. The first phase of the study, conducted by three University of Texas professors, analyzed the demographic profile of nearly every census tract in the city. The analysis sought to highlight areas that have experienced […]
Posted inHousing
Austin could use rising property values to create affordable housing
City Council Member Greg Casar wants to get the most out of the hundreds of millions of dollars that the city is poised to spend to upgrade its transportation corridors in the coming years. The improvements coming to Austin’s corridors will naturally contribute to increasing property values in the surrounding area. If the city does […]
Posted inHousing
Council endorses new Chalmers Courts project
With the Council chambers full of cheering supporters, City Council on Thursday unanimously endorsed an award of low-income housing tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for a multifamily development at East Fourth and Chicon streets to be called Pathways at Chalmers Courts East Apartments. It will replace the current Chalmers […]
Posted inHousing
Housing repair funds, 3-D printed homes pitched as affordability solutions
For the past several weeks, nine local nonprofits, government agencies and private companies have been mapping out new solutions to the city’s housing affordability problem. Last night, they presented their ideas at the Impact Hub, a co-working space on North Lamar, which organized the effort. Ashley Phillips, managing director of Impact Hub, said the process […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark commission pushes for full preservation of Rosewood Courts
This year, a plan to preserve and redevelop Rosewood Courts will be making its way through City Hall. After more than two years of work, advocates for the plan hope that they have struck a compromise between modernizing the property and preserving its history. The Dec. 18 meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission revealed that […]
Posted inCity Council
Resolutions could change how demolitions are done in Austin
On Thursday, City Council approved two resolutions that direct the city to take a look at the literal and figurative cost of demolitions in Austin. Each could lead to increased fees for the growing number of building demolitions in Austin. Demolitions in the city have increased by about 13 percent per year since 2010. Mayor […]
Posted inHousing
Council approves funding for study on housing discrimination
City Council is moving forward with plans for the region’s first fair housing assessment. The effort aims to shed light on issues of housing discrimination across Central Texas. The federal Fair Housing Act was designed to protect people from discrimination when renting, buying or financing a home, but biased practices persist in cities across the […]
Posted inHousing
Austin residents protest mobile home investment class
A few dozen protesters gathered in downtown Austin on Friday to march down East Fifth Street and into the Westin hotel, where a class on investing in mobile home parks was reportedly being held. The protesters, dressed in graduation caps and gowns, held signs calling for justice and a “diploma” from Colorado-based Mobile Home University […]
Posted inHousing
In this new neighborhood, none of the homeowners own the land
Laura Soto, 38, sands several planks of wood that will serve as the trim for the outside of her new home. A few feet from her lies a plank of wood labeled “front porch,” another labeled “door.” On a break from working, Soto talks color palette. “The trim will be the rich white, the outside […]
Posted inCourts
Council reaches settlement in substandard housing case
After a years-long battle between the city and apartment complex owner Walter Olenick, City Council voted unanimously last Thursday to approve a settlement that will compensate the city $150,000 and secure affordable units in the future. As part of the agreement, the city will be dropping property maintenance lawsuits for code violations (totaling in fines […]
Posted inDevelopment
New apartments could be coming to Northwest Austin shopping center
A popular shopping center in Northwest Austin could be redeveloped to include hundreds of apartments. The 17-acre site at 9828 Great Hills Trail, owned by Great Hills Retail Inc., currently includes a shopping center, restaurants, a movie theater and a bank. It will be up to City Council to decide whether to allow for new […]