Leaders in Austin’s real estate and development community learned plenty about the planned expansion of the Austin Convention Center during a panel discussion last week, but they were left waiting as to when the contracts for design, engineering and contracting work on the facility will be released for proposals and bidding. The May member breakfast […]
Urban Land Institute
Posted inAustin
City’s affordability crisis threatens to price out creative class
Leaders in the region’s entertainment and sports event industries see problems ahead if the city can’t address affordability problems that are forcing artists and working-class audiences to relocate to nearby suburbs. Pointing to the rising cost of living, transportation and other infrastructure issues, panelists at this month’s Urban Land Institute of Austin breakfast stressed that, […]
Posted inAustin
Business leaders see continued growth with airport’s expansion plans
Even with expansion plans somewhat scaled back because of the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, local business leaders see the continued growth of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as vital to the region’s long-term economic prospects. At a recent panel held by Urban Land Institute Austin, airport executives laid out the revised scope and schedule of […]
Posted inPlanning
Local developers hear call for creative space partnerships through cultural trust
As the city’s recently activated Economic Development Corporation takes its first significant steps to preserve creative spaces, the local real estate and development community is starting to explore ways to partner and bring arts and music uses into new and existing projects. While there were no specific details of the discussions taking place behind the […]
Posted inDevelopment
Mixed-use options considered for future of police HQ site downtown
Planners see a variety of possibilities for the eventual redevelopment of the Austin Police Department headquarters site downtown, with office space, affordable housing, retail, an event space and recording studio among the possible uses. Those were some of the ideas discussed during a recent competition organized by Urban Land Institute Austin, which organizes local development […]
Posted inLocal Government
Panelists look at impacts, opportunities brought by Tesla and others
With Austin an increasingly popular relocation choice for major companies and public institutions, the area’s infrastructure, employment dynamics and education systems are in for significant impacts in the coming years. That was the messages panelists had for local real estate and development leaders on Wednesday, when Urban Land Institute Austin focused its monthly breakfast on […]
Posted inTransit
Project Connect panel looks at planning, equity concerns attached to transit system
With the city and county moving forward on the assortment of transit and community development projects included in Project Connect, leaders involved want community members to realize the many other public and private interests that play into the multibillion-dollar effort. The local real estate and development community that gathered for a recent Urban Land Institute […]
Posted inDevelopment
Panelists tout benefits of growing use of public-private partnerships
With real estate prices rising and land availability becoming more scarce throughout Central Texas, local governments and public institutions are finding more opportunities to consider public-private partnerships as a way to maximize the use of public land. While the Mueller and Seaholm developments in Austin are two of the more high-profile projects involving P3 redevelopment […]
Posted inDevelopment
Developers, planners key to housing the city’s homeless population
City and nonprofit leaders tasked with helping the city’s growing homeless population see a need for short-term temporary housing and longer-term planning strategies that will make it easier to build homes and provide services for those in need. The ongoing push to update Austin’s building code, the permitting and planning processes and the difficulties caused […]
Posted inPlanning
Panel weighs future potential of city’s health care innovation district
The battle over reconstructing Interstate 35, and the stalled Land Development Code update, are factors that continue to influence the shape and scope of the developing health care innovation district in the eastern section of downtown Austin. Those larger civic questions were among the points of discussion during a recent Urban Land Institute Austin panel […]
Posted inTransportation
TxDOT reveals early plans to accommodate I-35 caps
Discussion at Thursday’s City Council Mobility Committee meeting showed both the Texas Department of Transportation’s intent to accommodate caps over Interstate 35 and city leaders’ will to make it happen. TxDOT said all three of the design alternatives for the proposed multibillion-dollar I-35 Capital Express Central project will allow caps – though TxDOT will not […]
Posted inDevelopment
Equity proponents push developers for better feedback in housing projects
As Austin continues to rapidly grow, developers and community advocates from across the city see a need for more engagement with marginalized communities when planning housing projects intended to reduce gentrification. The need for door knocking and face-to-face involvement was one of the central takeaways from a recent panel discussion organized by the Urban Land […]