Underground Light-Rail Tunnel Could Be More Than A Mile Longer Than Expected "Austin's multibillion-dollar transit expansion will require extending an underground light-rail tunnel from Auditorium Shores to as far south as Lively Middle School on South Congress Avenue. The change could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but transit planners vow to work it into the budget Austin voters authorized in November when they agreed to a tax increase of 8.75 cents per $100 of property value." (Nathan Bernier, KUT)
Greystar, Austin housing authority plan recommended for St. John Site redevelopment "District 4 Council Member Greg Casar on July 23 laid out additional priorities that Austin's potential negotiating agreement for the redevelopment of the St. John Site could include if passed by City Council next week." (Ben Thompson, Community Impact)
Convention center plans meet resistance from Downtown Commission skeptics "The Downtown Commission will consider asking City Council not to move forward with any new plans to expand the Austin Convention Center, with commission members asking city staff for more information to justify the project." (Chad Swiatecki, Austin Monitor)
Block 185, Austin’s New ‘Google Tower,’ Officially Topped Out Downtown "Block 185, the 35-floor downtown Austin office tower bringing an instantly-iconic sailboat-inspired design to the skyline and reportedly set to be occupied by tech giants Google celebrates its official topping out today, according to developers Trammell Crow Company and investment firm MSD Capital." (James Rambin, Towers)
Facebook expanding in downtown Austin, entering Pflugerville "Facebook Inc. is expanding its footprint in the Austin metro. The social media giant has leased more than 32,000 square feet of warehouse space in Pflugerville while also growing its presence in a downtown Austin high-rise."
Robots take the wheel: Lyft to offer driverless rides in Austin next year "Next year when you summon Lyft for a ride in Austin, your trip might be driverless. Austin is set to be one of the first markets to offer autonomous vehicles as an option for people who use the ride-hailing service Lyft. Lyft will partner with Ford and Pittsburgh-based autonomous driving company Argo AI on the venture, which is expected to debut in Miami this year and be followed by Austin in 2022." (Kara Carlson, Austin American-Statesman)
Austin Public Health says to mask up indoors, regardless of vaccination status "Austin Public Health is urging all Austin and Travis County residents to wear masks indoors as coronavirus-related hospital admissions continue to surge. APH updated the Austin-Travis County community's pandemic risk-based guidelines to Stage 3 last week, citing mounting cases and hospitalizations as well as multiple confirmed cases of the contagious COVID-19 delta variant." (Olivia Aldridge, Community Impact)
