Tomás Ramírez moistens a reed, puts in his teeth, gulps down the last of his coffee and begins to play. The sound that comes from his alto saxophone is a mournful riff. “I just sort of make things up when people ask me to play,” Ramírez says. The 75-year-old has played on Carole King albums […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inPlanning
Council weighs affordable housing goals as it restarts HealthSouth redevelopment process
Members of City Council want the city to reexamine how much affordable and market-rate housing could be generated downtown based on the redevelopment of the parcels known as the HealthSouth property. Item 101 on the agenda for today’s meeting directs the Austin Housing Finance Corporation to determine the best scenario for creating affordable housing in […]
Posted inHousing
Housing costs analysis endorses changes in lots sizes, compatibility requirements
City staff and researchers at the University of Texas looking to reduce housing costs have published their recommendations on policies for City Council to consider. A memo published last week offers a broad overview of the current state of affordability and development costs in Austin. The analysis by the Development Services and Housing departments and […]
Posted inHousing
Council orders overhaul of SMART housing program
City Council voted this week to proceed with an overhaul of the SMART housing program. The SMART (Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced, Transit-Oriented) housing program grants certain fee waivers to housing developments that agree to include affordable housing. The list of waived fees includes permit, capital recovery and construction inspection fees. Austin adopted SMART in […]
Posted inHousing
District-by-district analysis shows unequal progress on affordable housing construction
The nonprofit HousingWorks Austin on June 29 released its eighth “District by District and Community at a Glance Analysis,” an annual report that shows how many units of subsidized affordable housing have been built in each City Council district, as well as other stats about housing affordability. The report tells a two-sided story. On one […]
Posted inPlanning
County gives final OK for millions toward low-income housing at Juniper Creek
The Travis County Commissioners Court on June 27 approved a measure funding an affordable housing contract for Foundation Communities, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing and subrecipient of the Juniper Creek development contract. The money is sourced from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, and the amount awarded is “not to exceed” $6.5 […]
Posted inPlanning
Council proposes allowing more homes in single-family zoning
City Council on Thursday voted to create a program that would allow more homes on single-family lots, as long as some homes are priced affordably. “What we are trying to accomplish here, from a high level, is to create an ownership density bonus program that allows for affordable units to be built without subsidy,” said […]
Posted inAustin
Panelists eye affordability pains in music, EMS, hospitality sectors
Leaders from two of Austin’s most prominent economic sectors – housing and hospitality – see passage of a new Land Development Code and eliminating the tipped minimum wage for restaurant staff as two long-needed steps to address increasing affordability concerns across the city. Last week, the LBJ Presidential Library’s Future Forum panel discussion looked at […]
Posted inHousing
City looks to train, grow new developers to target affordable housing
Smaller developers without years of experience in the Austin market are invited to participate in a new city housing program designed with the goal of creating more affordable housing throughout the city. Applications are open for the Austin Small Developer Training Program, which is being funded by the Austin Housing Finance Corporation using $352,770 from […]
Posted inPlanning
Austin wants more community benefits from projects on city-owned land
The city is looking at how to improve many of the activities it takes in redeveloping publicly owned properties, with a special eye on increasing community benefits such as affordable housing in projects such as the Austin Convention Center. A memo released Friday includes several responses from the Economic Development Department to a December resolution […]
Posted inHousing
The University of Texas says it will help low-income students pay for housing
University of Texas students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year may be able to get money to cover a portion of their on-campus rent for one academic year. University officials teased the new program in an op-ed in the Austin American–Statesman last weekend before officially announcing the program Wednesday. Students whose families earn no more than $65,000 […]
Posted inTransit
Council allocates next three years of Project Connect anti-displacement funds
The city continued allocation of Project Connect’s $300 million anti-displacement budget last week. At its regular meeting on April 13, City Council voted to approve a resolution allocating the funds for the next three fiscal years. The first round of funding included $23 million for land acquisition in Fiscal Year 2021-22. Last year, the city […]