Statesman PUD gets first Planning Commission hearing "Preliminary plans for the nearly 19-acre planned unit development, known informally as the Statesman PUD, include 3.6 million total square feet of residential, office and hotel uses spread across six towers ranging from 215 to 525 feet tall. This includes 1,378 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of offices, a 275-room hotel, and 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurants." — Austin Monitor
Huge Bastrop 552 film studio may open in 2023 "A 546-acre film studio and entertainment district near Bastrop has a target opening date for its first phase: August 2023. That's among the new details emerging about the Bastrop 552 project, which owner Alton Butler has said will eventually have 486,000 square feet of studio space, 300,000 square feet of warehouse/mill space and 200,000 square feet of office space in a horseshoe bend of the Colorado River." — Austin Business Journal
Travis County announces new eviction protections "The order requires that trials on evictions be paused for 30 days to allow the renter time to find rental assistance, consult an attorney and negotiate a settlement without the need for an eviction." — Community Impact
City responds to increase in homeless encampments along downtown hike and bike trail "The City of Austin is once again seeing an increase in homeless encampments popping up along the downtown Hike and Bike Trail. The City says the Austin Parks and Recreation Department is aware of the tents. PARD surveyed the area in early September and has seen substantial growth since October." — KEYE/CBS Austin
Austin moves to Stage 4 of risk-based guidelines amid latest COVID-19 surge "Austin-Travis County leaders announced on Wednesday, December 29 that the area has moved from Stage 3 to Stage 4 of its COVID-19 risk-based guidelines." — CultureMap Austin
Leander City Council to consider asking voters if city should break up with CapMetro "The Leander City Council will decide in late January whether to ask voters in a May election to determine the future of the city's partnership with Capital Metro. ... Leander has been paying 1 cent out of a 2-cent local sales tax to CapMetro for the services since 1986. It has paid $9.8 million for the services this year. Leander City Council members will review draft ballot propositions Thursday and decide Jan. 20 whether to call an election." — Austin American-Statesman
Austin officials say Sixth Street should remain closed to vehicles on weekends "The city doesn't plan to open Sixth Street to cars on weekends, according to a memo sent Monday by Austin Police and city leaders to the mayor and City Council. ... Austin Police and city leaders say reopening the road is not feasible because its narrow sidewalks can't support the kind of pedestrian traffic seen on weekends, especially during peak hours between 11:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.."— KUT
