As city leaders prepare for a major overhaul of the Downtown Austin Plan, staff recommendations for the initiative could significantly expand the geographic area and project scope of the city’s long-range strategy for its urban core. A May 9 memo from the Planning Department outlines a shift toward an expansive Center City/ Central District Plan […]
Downtown Austin Plan
The Downtown Austin Plan supports dense housing, multi-modal transportation, green space and businesses.
Posted inPlanning
Downtown Commission wants updated downtown plan draft in six months; Council vote next summer
The Downtown Commission wants the city to approve an updated version of the Downtown Austin Plan by next summer, with a draft document expected early next year to allow the commission to make needed budget recommendations next spring. At a special meeting last month, the commission considered how to best move forward with the new […]
Posted inDevelopment
Zoning changes show downtown northwest quadrant changing
With its collection of mostly historic homes-turned-offices, downtown’s northwest corner can often feel like a ghost town, at least compared to the rest of downtown. But a flurry of development activity over the past two years is set to make the area much livelier. According to a review of zoning requests and other development filings, […]
Posted inPreservation
Iron Bear demolition paused as landmark commission considers historic designation
With its fate far from certain, the proposed demolition of the warehouse that is home to Austin’s Iron Bear has been put on hold after the city’s Historic Landmark Commission initiated historic zoning on the structure. An outpouring of support for the beloved LGBTQ bar moved commissioners to move forward with designating the building at […]
Posted inZoning
Council postpones decision on Delta Kappa Gamma rezoning
City Council last Thursday postponed rezoning the historic Delta Kappa Gamma headquarters at 416 W. 12th St., yielding to a request from a property owner on the same block. Delta Kappa Gamma, an organization that supports women educators worldwide, seeks Downtown Mixed-Use (DMU) zoning to allow Stratus Properties to replace the circa-1959, midcentury-modern building, which […]
Posted inPlanning
CodeNEXT failure, scooters and developers lead to new look at downtown plan
The Downtown Austin Plan, conceived in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis and approved in 2011 as Austin’s commercial real estate market was kicking back into high gear, is going to get a hard look under the hood. Last month, the city’s Downtown Commission voted 6-3 to recommend City Council direct the city manager […]
Posted inZoning
Council: Keep San Antonio Street property at 60 feet
With only seven of its members voting, City Council on Thursday unanimously endorsed Downtown Mixed-Use zoning (DMU) for a property on the west side of downtown but refused to grant the 90-foot height requested by the applicant and recommended by the Planning Commission. Instead, Council voted on first reading only for a 60-foot height limitation […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council to update density benefit regulations for Rainey Street area
Austin City Council members Thursday OK’d the start of a process that will result in a set of changes to the way that developers can exchange extra project density for community benefits in the area in and around Rainey Street. The new rules, once codified, are designed to bring Rainey’s development rules into alignment with […]