Austin cuts minimum lot size by more than half, requiring less land to build a home "The change allows property owners to build a home on as little as 1,800 square feet of land. This is a far cry from Austin's long-held minimum lot size, which required at least 5,750 square feet of land per single-family house.” (Audrey McGlinchy, KUT 90.5)
Group sues Austin to halt Statesman PUD in its tracks "The Save Our Springs Alliance filed a lawsuit aimed at the city's proposed use of property just south of the river from downtown, this time targeting the planned unit development for the former Austin American-Statesman property.” (KXAN News, Austin Business Journal staff)
After a long boom, downtown Austin development slowed in '23 "Downtown has seen a significant reduction in office space use as companies — including big-name tech firms such as Facebook and Indeed.com — have downsized, cutting back on their space needs as employees work remotely or have a hybrid work schedule.” (Shonda Novak, Austin American-Statesman)
Self-driving car company plans to operate in Austin even though it's under a federal investigation "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation into Waymo on May 13, over reports that the company's cars caused traffic problems, including crashes, in a number of cities.” (Melia Masumoto, KVUE-ABC)
Expansion of 'forever chemical' company welcomed in Round Rock after protest in Florence "Exfluor, which has its headquarters in Round Rock, broke ground in April on an addition to its 14,200-square-foot facility at 2350 Double Creek Drive, near Texas 45 and Interstate 35.” (Claire Osborn, Austin American-Statesman)
Wheatsville to close Guadalupe Street store that opened in 1981 "Wheatsville Food Co-op — a local, member-owned natural food store operating in Austin since 1976 — plans to close its location on Guadalupe Street and focus on building smaller stores. General Manager Bill Bickford acknowledged the store was facing financial struggles, but said Austin's voter-approved plan to build light-rail down Guadalupe Street is pushing the 43-year-old Wheatsville location to close.” (Nathan Bernier, KUT 90.5)
The University of Texas to establish new campus in Taylor "The property, located near Samsung Austin Semiconductor's 6 million-square-foot semiconductor chip fabrication plant in Taylor, is expected to bolster the region’s rapidly growing semiconductor supply chain.” (Haley McLeod, Community Impact)
