Elon Musk Wants Big Families. He Bought a Secret Compound for His. "On a quiet, leafy street of multimillion-dollar properties, one stands out: a 14,400-square-foot mansion that looks like a villa plucked from the hills of Tuscany and transplanted to Austin, Texas. This is where Elon Musk, 53, the world’s richest man and perhaps the most important campaign backer of former President Donald J. Trump, has been trying to establish the cornerstone of an unusual family compound, according to four people familiar with his plans.” (Kirsten Grind, Ryan Mac, and Sheera Frenkel, New York Times)
Tesla gigafactory plans massive expansion in Austin "According to recent filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Tesla has submitted 10 filings for construction at the electric vehicle plant that would add more than 5 million square feet.” (John Diaz, KVUE/ABC)
PayPal grows its Austin presence "The company now will be occupying more than half of Domain Tower 2 in North Austin." (Cody Baird, Austin Business Journal)
Why Nate Paul was back in court, and what his lawyers are saying about evidence in the case "One of the federal investigators looking into former Austin developer Nate Paul's financial crimes case testified in a preliminary hearing Wednesday that a former employee had told him that he witnessed Paul alter bank documents in an effort to obtain a real estate loan.” (John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman)
Report finds slashed site plan review times, with further improvements on tap "An analysis of the city’s ongoing work to improve its widely criticized permitting process for building within the city shows substantial improvements in turnaround times for the main types of reviews, with further gains expected as the city moves forward with later phases of its plan.” (Chad Swiatecki, Austin Monitor)
Bastrop 552 film studios no longer waiting in the wings, building to begin "Three years in the making, founder Alton Butler said the stage is set to resume building Bastrop 552 film studios after a recent plot twist: the disannexation of his 545-acre property on Lovers Lane.” (Amanda Cutshall, Community Impact)
Largest I-35 expansion kicks off amid protests in Austin "The largest-ever expansion of Interstate 35 through Central Austin officially kicked off Wednesday as the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) held a groundbreaking ceremony on top of a six-story parking garage at UT Austin's baseball stadium.” (Nathan Bernier, KUT News)
City shares update on parks-nonprofit relationships "During a special called meeting of City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee on Oct. 9, three speakers stated their concerns about the relationship between the Parks Department and its nonprofit partners, specifically regarding special events and the Trail of Lights.” (Amy Smith, Austin Monitor)
