A hearing at the Planning Commission on a proposal by city staff to change land use plans around two Capital Metro park-and-ride sites in North and South Austin was postponed during a March 25 meeting after neighborhood advocates raised alarm. The postponed plan revolves around the North Lamar and South Congress transit centers, which Capital […]
Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
Mixed-use residential and commercial areas designed to be compact and walkable.
Posted inZoning
Neighbors turn out for Manor Road proposal
A proposal to amend a city plan surrounding Capital Metro’s Martin Luther King Jr. Station was met with anger from neighbors during a Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 28 and a successful request from developers for commissioners to postpone any decision on the case. The amendment would remove a plot of land at 2967 Manor […]
Posted inDevelopment
Developer expects to reach agreement for Crestview project this fall
The firm selected to lead in the redevelopment of a former utility yard in Crestview doesn’t expect the city’s recent changes to land use for transit-oriented developments to impact its plans for the site that has long been earmarked for substantial new housing. In May, the Austin Housing Finance Corporation voted to pursue a development […]
Posted inPlanning
Cap Metro makes progress with equitable transit-oriented development project
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority updated the Urban Transportation Commission last Wednesday on the progress it has made on the equitable transit-oriented development project. The eTOD project uses $1.65 million in federally awarded grant money to study ways to reduce gentrification and encourage new economic opportunities for traditionally underserved communities along the new Project Connect transit corridors. […]
Posted inTransit
Council to adopt Project Connect TOD plans by next summer, early code fixes by year’s end
City Council on Thursday laid out its land use planning priorities for areas near Project Connect stations, passing a resolution directing city staff to help with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (eTOD) studies. The studies will lead to station-area plans for Project Connect’s Orange and Blue light rail lines, Gold Line bus […]
Posted inPlanning
Council wants Project Connect TOD plans in place ‘pronto’
The city is set to overhaul its transit-oriented development policies to allow denser, more equitable development near future Project Connect stations as soon as possible. “We need to be ready from the word ‘go’ to let areas near our transit system be able to grow in a way that maximizes ridership potential,” Mayor Pro Tem […]
Posted inDevelopment
ULI panel explores the lessons of transit-oriented development
With transit-oriented developments likely to become more prevalent as Austin relies more on mass transit in the coming years, the planners and builders involved in their creation are confronted with the issues of affordability, displacement and appropriate economic incentives. Those were some of topics discussed at a recent panel discussion about TOD opportunities sponsored by Urban […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Commission pushes for increased height, reduced compatibility ahead of code rewrite
The Planning Commission voted Tuesday to initiate a code amendment that would increase the building height limit from 60 to 85 feet at properties located within a transit-oriented development or zoned as vertical mixed-use. For good measure, the amendment would also waive all restrictions based on compatibility standards for any transit-oriented development or vertical mixed-use […]
Posted inHousing
Council approves fee-in-lieu for more housing
Greg Anderson, director of operations for Austin Habitat for Humanity, pronounced his organization “happy, happy, happy” on Friday. The declaration came after City Council approved a deal that would allow Cielo Property Group to build a new mixed-use project with a slightly higher density than would be allowed without Council approval and to give Austin […]
Posted inPreservation
East Austin cottage relocation plan worries some
A plan to relocate four Calcasieu cottages from East Austin has stalled at the Historic Landmark Commission for the time being, with some commissioners deciding the current plan is just too risky to endorse. Built by the Calcasieu Lumber Company of Austin in the 1920s and 1930s, the cottages at 2819 and 2821 Manor Road […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Pressley deposed
Pressley denies bad press caused election loss … Former City Council candidate Laura Pressley believes that errors made by Travis County, not the bad publicity she received before last November’s election and the December runoff, were the reasons that she lost to Greg Casar, now the District 4 Council member. Pressley explained her views during […]
Posted inDevelopment
Capital Metro board chooses two finalists for Plaza Saltillo project
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority selected two finalists Monday in the competition to develop the East Side’s Plaza Saltillo. They were Endeavor Real Estate Group and Saltillo Collaborative. The board plans to announce a final choice at its June 23 meeting. The other two developers the board considered, Riverside Resources and Argyle Residential, a […]