A recent City Council vote that initiates the process for Sir Swante Palm Neighborhood Park to be zoned as public parkland may open the door to renewed negotiations between city officials, the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, and longtime Latino advocates who have raised concerns for years about being excluded from decisions around the historic site’s redevelopment. […]
Palm School
Currently the home of the Travis County Health and Human Services and Veteran Services building, the Palm School opened as one of the first elementary schools in 1892, and operated as an elementary school for 84 years. It is located at Cesar Chavez and IH-35.
Posted inPlanning
City, county taking steps to realize vision for Palm School area
Members of the steering committee charged with shaping the future of the Palm School property downtown expect to begin their work later this month, while a handful of major infrastructure projects are moving forward throughout the larger Palm District that stretches from the southern edge of the Rainey Street District to Waterloo Park on 15th […]
Posted inPlanning
Staff unveils long-awaited Palm District draft plan
City staff members presented the draft version of the long-awaited Palm District Plan to the Environmental Commission last week. City Council commissioned the plan in 2019 as it sparred with Travis County over the future of the county-owned Palm School site. The resolution instructed city staff to engage with the public and learn the community’s […]
Posted inCity Hall
Tovo eyes historic preservation funds for undisclosed property negotiations
The grant program that uses Hotel Occupancy Tax money to help improve historic sites could be put on hold for a year so the city could use its funding to purchase historic sites. At City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee meeting this week, Council Member Kathie Tovo said her objection earlier this year to approving […]
Posted inTravis County
County presses pause on Palm School, pending community input
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court discussed what to do about the Palm School. On June 15, commissioners rejected the city’s 2020 offer to buy the Palm School building. The news disappointed many in the Latino community who had hoped a transfer of ownership would take place so that the building would remain a […]
Posted inPlanning
County rebuffs city’s offer to buy Palm School, leaving its future uncertain
In a vote few people were aware of until last week, the Travis County Commissioners Court rejected the city of Austin’s offer to purchase the historic Swante Palm School building on the eastern edge of downtown. Community activists, who for years have advocated preserving the school to honor its Mexican American history, were not aware […]
Posted inPlanning
City seeks input on vision, plans for downtown’s Palm District
Residents can begin offering their thoughts to the city about the future use and look of the Palm District, a section of downtown that features historic structures and is surrounded by rapid growth and development. The city will hold a series of virtual meetings and surveys to let those interested in the district share their […]
Posted inTravis County
Eckhardt offers the city Palm School in exchange for expo center, hotel tax
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt says that she and her colleagues on the Commissioners Court are willing to give away the Palm School to the city of Austin. But they want a couple of big things in return. In a letter to City Manager Spencer Cronk, Eckhardt proposes the county transfer ownership of the historic […]
Posted inPreservation
Court approves Palm School protections but future of property uncertain
The Travis County Commissioners Court easily approved a set of restrictive covenants aimed at preserving the Palm School building if the county sells the property that is home to the historic structure. The court voted 4-1 in favor of a set of restrictions drawn up by county staff several months ago that commit any future […]
Posted inPreservation
County hears pleas to preserve all of Palm School property
The future of the Palm School property remains unclear after a public hearing where activists implored the Travis County Commissioners Court not to sell any part of the land to a private developer. While the court voted unanimously in June to approve restrictive covenants that will commit any future owner of the land to preserving […]
Posted inPlanning
Memo suggests expanding Palm School plan to include Waller Creek, medical district
The city’s Planning and Zoning Department has recommended greatly expanding the scope of revitalization plans focused around the Palm School property, to include the entirety of the Waterloo Greenway project and more of the downtown core. The change suggested would include substantially more property, and several existing planning areas, than what was included in a […]
Posted inTravis County
Commissioners debate future of Palm School property
Four months after voting to put in place restrictions on the Palm School property that would prevent the main building from being redeveloped, members of the Travis County Commissioners Court continue to display differences of opinion about the property’s future. On Tuesday, county staff presented the court with the results of a month of community […]