Lee esta historia en español As Austin was coordinating Covid-19 test centers and trying to secure personal protective equipment at the start of the pandemic, it was also buying land. Lots of it. Thirteen acres by July 2020. Another 3 acres that fall. Six more acres in December. By the end of 2020, the city […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inZoning
Southeast rezoning will allow huge increase in multifamily units
Last week, City Council gave final approval to developers who want to demolish 210 aging multifamily residences and replace them with 1,100 new units plus commercial development on Willow Creek Drive near Pleasant Valley Road in Southeast Austin. The 7-acre property at 2201 Willow Creek Drive will go from Multifamily Residence-Medium Density (MF-3) zoning to […]
Posted inHousing
HEB’s $1M donation to fund two affordable housing projects in East Austin
To aid in the construction of affordable housing in East Austin, HEB has announced a $1 million donation to Austin Habitat for Humanity to help fund two new clusters of affordable homes in East Austin. The grocery giant’s contribution will help fund construction on Habitat’s 126-unit Persimmon Point project, and the organization’s work at the […]
Posted inHousing
Austin opens new affordable housing development in Southeast Austin
Lee esta historia en español Just days before Thanksgiving, some older residents have another thing to be thankful for: a safe, affordable place to live. Tucked away in a corner of Southeast Austin sits the city’s newest affordable housing project, Ekos City Heights. The Austin Housing Finance Corporation and McDowell Housing Partners opened the new […]
Posted inHousing
City Council passes resolution prioritizing co-op housing for older people and people with disabilities
City Council passed a resolution Thursday directing the city manager to prioritize city-owned land for the development of income-restricted, shared-equity housing for older residents and people with disabilities, including options like cooperative housing and community land trusts. The resolution also called for prioritizing sites located near public transit corridors, particularly within equitable transit-oriented developments (ETODs). […]
Posted inHousing
Panelists discuss how to solve Austin’s workforce housing crisis
While discussing the housing affordability crisis and its impact on Austin’s essential workers, a local EMS leader captured attention Wednesday morning with her account of how emergency services staff are pushing themselves beyond reasonable limits because of their long commutes into the city. With roughly 70 percent of Austin EMS Association members living outside the […]
Posted inHousing
Austin reopens applications for people who need help paying rent
Lee esta historia en español Low-income renters struggling to afford their monthly rent can now apply to get help from the city. Austin has about $3.6 million to dole out, after City Council members approved a new budget earlier this year. Applications opened this past Friday, Nov. 1, and will stay open for about a week, […]
Posted inHousing
Report shows more ways for city to help residents become homeowners
Although the city of Austin offers help for low-income residents who wish to become homeowners, that assistance is limited to buyers who earn at or below 80 percent of the local Median Family Income, or MFI, which is currently $97,800 for a family of four. At the request of City Council members Vanessa Fuentes and […]
Posted inHousing
New scenarios for HealthSouth site could revive redevelopment push from Council
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 […]
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 inHousing
As rents across the country go up, Austin prices continue to fall
During the pandemic, Austin came to exemplify the story of housing across the country: Prices went through the roof. In 2021, the average monthly rent in the region rose 25 percent. Similar increases happened in cities in California and Arizona. But that narrative has flipped. As tens of thousands of new apartments have opened in […]
Posted inHousing
City provides updates on financial, anti-displacement efforts related to HOME initiatives
The city has started to make a series of moves intended to make it easier for middle- and low-income residents to build accessory dwelling units and generate new income from properties that are now able to host more housing. Last week’s meeting of City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee included an update from Mandy DeMayo, […]