To reach the goal of bringing about 500 units of affordable housing to the South Central Waterfront District, the city would need voters to approve more bond funds, for as much as $60 million. The prospects for planned affordable housing for the area south of the Congress Avenue bridge were among several issues discussed in […]
South Central Waterfront Plan
Posted inAustin
EDC waiting on TIRZ formation while moving ahead with cultural trust funding proposals
The city’s economic development corporation is moving ahead with evaluating proposals from creative groups vying for some of the $16.9 million in cultural trust funds for creative spaces, but its role in helping manage development south of Lady Bird Lake is in limbo while the real estate market moves forward. Staff from the EDC, a […]
Posted inDevelopment
Affordable housing takes center stage in Statesman PUD debate
City Council Member Kathie Tovo revealed during Tuesday’s work session that she will be seeking a major change to the proposed planned unit development on the former Statesman site on Lady Bird Lake. The Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for the site, which is currently proposed to include 1,378 residential units, 150,000 square feet of […]
Posted inPlanning
Council still has many questions about waterfront tax zone
Anyone expecting definitive answers about how the city will pay for improvements for the South Central Waterfront zone after a lengthy discussion at Tuesday’s City Council work session was likely disappointed. At the end of reports from the city’s financial and housing staff, Council still had numerous questions. Mayor Steve Adler, who has been a […]
Posted inPlanning
Council moves toward creating South Central Waterfront TIRZ
At its final meeting of the year, City Council gave preliminary approval for the South Central Waterfront tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ in city parlance. Council members Leslie Pool and Greg Casar did not participate in the Dec. 20 meeting, but the rest of the members voted for the plan unanimously. Council unofficially adopted […]
Posted inDevelopment
Statesman PUD gets first Planning Commission hearing
As the long-anticipated redevelopment of the Austin American-Statesman site at 305 S. Congress Ave. heads toward a City Council vote next year, the development team presented its vision to the Planning Commission on Dec. 14. Preliminary plans for the nearly 19-acre planned unit development, known informally as the Statesman PUD, include 3.6 million total square […]
Posted inPlanning
South Central Waterfront financing plan expected next month
After many years of vision planning and discussions, two major redevelopment projects – the South Central Waterfront and the Colony Park Vision Plan in Northeast Austin – are showing some degree of progress in relation to how the projects would be financed. City staffers are expected to present a preliminary financing plan for South Central […]
Posted inPlanning
Council to adopt TIRZ, implement full south waterfront plan
The long-delayed South Central Waterfront Plan moved closer to implementation Thursday after City Council initiated a tax increment reinvestment zone to guide the use of new property tax revenue on the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. The TIRZ is one key element of the South Central Waterfront Plan, which upon adoption will regulate development […]
Posted inDevelopment
Parks board says Statesman PUD’s parkland proposal needs more work
The Parks and Recreation Board has determined that the proposed planned unit development on the Austin American-Statesman property is not a superior project as it relates to parkland. With that determination, the board further encouraged parks staffers to continue working with the applicant to try to address the board’s list of goals for the site […]
Posted inPlanning
‘Statesman’ site moves forward while staffers work on financing, governance for district
City staff has offered the first round of comments and requests for more information on the redevelopment plans for the 18.9 acres of waterfront property currently occupied by the Austin American-Statesman, with the site seen as the centerpiece of the long-planned South Central Waterfront District. The master review report presented at last week’s meeting of […]
Posted inPlanning
Plan for ‘Statesman’ site precedes PUD amendment, push for funding options
The development team in charge of the waterfront property that houses the Austin American-Statesman newspaper plans to file an amendment to a planned unit development proposal for the site in the coming weeks, kicking off an expected year of negotiations for the central piece of South Congress Avenue. At last week’s South Central Waterfront Advisory […]
Posted inPlanning
Infrastructure, financing studies signal progress for South Shore district
The city’s Planning and Zoning Department is looking to move forward on two pieces of long-overdue economic analysis needed to begin larger planning and development efforts around the portion of South Congress Avenue immediately south of Lady Bird Lake. At Monday’s meeting of the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board, members learned that PAZ had identified […]