Members of City Council suggested Tuesday they’re inclined to hold off on selecting any redevelopment plans for the former HealthSouth site, in part because of the current real estate pipeline in the surrounding area and continued high interest rates that make new projects difficult for developers. Tuesday’s work session included a presentation on the four […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inHousing
Social services, housing policies seen as national challenges in addressing homelessness
Leaders in the movement to provide housing for homeless people agree there are more resources from the private, philanthropic and public spheres to fund projects, but the challenges of managing many demands and community priorities continue to slow their progress. Last week, Urban Land Institute’s national Housing Opportunity Conference convened in Austin, with financial professionals […]
Posted inHousing
Committee hears about need for more rental assistance money
Members of the City Council Housing and Planning Committee heard about the dire straits that many renters face, not just in Austin but across the country. Community displacement prevention officer Nefertitti Jackmon told the committee on Tuesday that the program she administers, which provides rental assistance to people facing eviction, will run out of money […]
Posted inHousing
Travis County embraces proposed Burleson Studios project
On the heels of a difficult vote on an increasingly controversial initiative for a survey on homelessness, housing once again topped the agenda at the Travis County Commissioners Court on Feb. 6. The court considered two motions on Burleson Studios, a transitional housing initiative that’s a collaborative effort between Foundation Communities and the Texas State Affordable Housing […]
Posted inPlanning
HealthSouth redevelopment scenarios spell out options for affordable housing downtown
The Housing Department has presented City Council with the four scenarios most likely to spur redevelopment of the former HealthSouth site on the eastern edge of downtown. A memo from Housing Director Mandy DeMayo spells out for Council the findings of Economic & Planning Systems Inc. in its analysis of how the city can adjust […]
Posted inHousing
Austin gave families $1,000 a month for a year. Most of the money was spent on housing.
People who received $1,000 a month from the city of Austin for a year spent the bulk of the cash on housing, according to a new study. Cities across the country, including Cambridge, Mass., and Ann Arbor, Mich., have begun piloting these guaranteed income programs, also called universal basic income programs. Under the programs, low-income […]
Posted inHousing
A dozen affordable housing projects face tight race for state tax credits
On Thursday, City Council will consider plans for 11 housing developments across the city that could receive state money to fund the creation of affordable housing. Nearly 1,100 units are in the works for the projects, which if approved will compete for 9 percent tax credits from the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) […]
Posted inHousing
Disability committee targets accessible housing needs for next city budget
Members of the city’s disability committee want to focus requests for next year’s budget on addressing the shortage of housing affordable for those who receive federal or state disability assistance, which typically falls short of the local threshold for affordable housing. Last month’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities featured presentations and […]
Posted inHousing
Foundation Communities seeks emergency funds and eyes coming apartment surge
Affordable housing nonprofit Foundation Communities has put out the call to raise an additional $50,000 to help cover emergency needs for low-income residents at risk of losing their homes. The group, which provides a number of support services to help people stay in their homes, experienced a rush of requests over the holiday season and […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Austin to allow more homes on one plot of land in the pursuit of cheaper housing
In an attempt to encourage the construction of middle-class housing, Austin voted Thursday to amend land use rules to let property owners build more homes in neighborhoods restricted to one family living in one house on one plot of land. City Council members voted 9-2 in favor of the changes, which will allow developers to construct up to […]
Posted inHousing
Austin helped buy cheap apartments with the intent of keeping prices low. Instead, rents went up.
In the parking lot of a two-story apartment building in Central Austin last month, former and current politicians came together to celebrate something increasingly rare in this city: low rents. The city, along with a real estate investment fund, had bought seven apartment complexes in some of Austin’s priciest neighborhoods. They planned to save these […]
Posted inHousing
County adds more “deeply affordable” housing units
Travis County has built about 12,000 affordable housing units and has more on the way, Travis County Corporations Managing Director Andrea Shields told the Commissioners Court last Tuesday. “That number will need to be updated with what you may approve today, but I would say it’s around 12,000 units,” Shields said. In a meeting of […]