As the Texas Department of Transportation moves ahead with plans to expand Interstate 35 under the Capital Express project, the city has joined the effort to use the giant construction project as an opportunity to help minority communities recover from the damage the interstate has done to East Austin since the 1950s. The city has […]
Downtown Austin Alliance
A nonprofit, membership-based organization focused, according to its website, on “preserving and enhancing the value and vitality of downtown Austin.”
Posted inAustin
Downtown survey shows small window for many businesses to reopen and recover
A large majority of business storefronts in downtown Austin are at risk of closure in the next two to three months without significant increases in commercial activity, according to a new study on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Downtown Austin Alliance released the results Tuesday of a recent survey of 80 downtown business […]
Posted inAustin
City, chamber, downtown alliance working to assist small businesses amid Covid-19 restrictions
With many businesses either closed or operating with restrictions caused by the Covid-19 health crisis, the Downtown Austin Alliance and Austin Chamber are gathering data from local business owners about the types of assistance they’ll need to stay open for the next several months. By the end of the week, the alliance expects to complete […]
Posted inRoads
Planning nonprofit suggests stitching Austin back together over I-35
With last week’s announcement of funding to improve Interstate 35 through Central Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance is inviting the community to gather around a vision for a more ambitious plan. Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of Downtown Austin Alliance, said the organization aims to take advantage of the state’s investments in infrastructure for I-35, […]
Posted inPublic Health
With state approval, ATX Helps will take over the homeless campsite at U.S. 183
State officials agreed Thursday to lease state-owned land to an Austin nonprofit for $1 a month to house homeless Austinites, with the goal of ultimately building a shelter on the 6.7-acre tract. The approval from the Texas Transportation Commission will allow ATX Helps, a coalition of business groups and nonprofits, to take over the site […]
Posted inRoads
Panel will look at future of development and displacement along I-35
A panel of national experts convened by the Urban Land Institute will look at ideas next week for how Austin could steer development plans for the land surrounding – and possibly covering – Interstate 35 in the years to come. The nine-member panel will spend the week touring the area along I-35 from Cesar Chavez […]
Posted inPlanning
Area leaders hear of economic, community benefits forecast for innovation district
A market analysis of the burgeoning health care innovation district in the northeastern section of downtown forecasts the cluster of businesses could eventually increase property values by an additional $102 million over standard development, and bring the city an estimated $12 million per year in additional property tax revenue. Those were some of the findings […]
Posted inDevelopment
Downtown to grow in a new direction
Generally speaking, residents used to take in the downtown skyline from the east or west. Today, the skyline has shifted 90 degrees so that the volume of development is better viewed from the north or the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. Looking into the future, however, Michele Van Hyfte of the Downtown Austin Alliance […]
Posted inAustin
Downtown Commission hears fundraising plans for 300 new shelter beds
A partnership between the Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin Chamber of Commerce has identified 14 sites that could become the location for a new large shelter to serve the city’s homeless population. At last month’s Downtown Commission meeting, representatives from those groups, which are working to register a new nonprofit group called ATX Helps, […]
Posted inParks
Parks board tries to negotiate impasse over use of Republic Square
Managers of the weekly farmers market that has taken place at Republic Square since 2003 have expressed frustration that the Downtown Austin Alliance’s use of the space for special events has started to negatively impact some of the more than 60 vendors. At last week’s meeting of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board, a representative […]
Posted inCity Council
Adler, others on Council want staff to lead on homelessness; DAA says city at ‘tipping point’
Mayor Steve Adler and City Council members Jimmy Flannigan and Paige Ellis weighed in Wednesday and Thursday with their views that the city manager, leaders from the Austin Police Department and the city’s new homeless strategy officer should determine how to rework city policies concerning homelessness. In a series of postings on the City Council […]
Posted inAustin
Salvation Army seeks funding on top of city dollars to open shelter for families
The Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation has pledged $100,000 to help open a new shelter for homeless families in East Austin, months after the city agreed to a one-time contribution of $1 million. The funding will help cover some of the $4.9 million in annual operating expenses for the Salvation Army’s new Rathgeber Center for Women […]