Developer aims to create 'legacy' music venue with massive 20,000-seat amphitheater in Southwest Austin "Developers hope to add a crown jewel to the Austin area's already bustling live music scene: a 20,000-seat amphitheater at the center of a 71-acre entertainment and residential project near Bee Cave. ... Plans also call for two luxury apartment towers, a distillery and tasting room, a Top Golf-style driving range and a parking garage." (Justin Sayers, Austin Business Journal)
14-Story Cambria Hotel Project Breaks Ground in the Rainey Street District "The new Rainey Street District location of the Cambria Hotel brand by Choice Hotels International finally broke ground yesterday at 68 East Avenue, four full years after its first announcement." (James Rambin, Towers)
'Calming trend' continues across Austin-area housing market, new report shows "The Austin-Round Rock metro housing market saw a continuation of a calming trend for the month of September, according to a new report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR). ABoR said home sales decreased 5.1% compared to September 2020 as the median sales price of $450,000 set a record for the month of September across the area." (KVUE)
3 years in, Austin is falling behind on goals in affordable housing plan "Four years ago, Austin officials set a goal to make the city a more affordable place for current and new residents to live by 2028. However, by the end of 2020, the city had reached 12% of its 10-year goal to ensure tens of thousands of new homes and rental units would be available to those earning less than the area’s median income, according to a city report released in September." (Ben Thompson, Community Impact)
Austin progressive Greg Casar eyes run for Congress "Progressive firebrand and Austin City Council Member Greg Casar is likely to run for Congress in Texas’s 35th District, he told the Texas Observer in an interview. 'It’s very likely that I’m running,' says Casar, who has formed an exploratory committee to examine a run for the district that runs from Austin to San Antonio. 'The maps haven’t been signed into law yet, but shortly after they are, I will make things much more official.'" (Justin Miller, Texas Observer)
Nonprofit's tool says TxDOT I-35 expansion proposals would have profound environmental consequences "The Texas Department of Transportation’s proposed I-35 designs in downtown Austin could add the equivalent of 17 million gallons of gas annually in emissions, according to a calculator released Oct. 20 by the clean-energy nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute." (Benton Graham, Community Impact)
Tenant list grows for new RiverSouth office tower near downtown Austin "An office project being built just south of downtown Austin has already signed on enough tenants to fill half the space in the 15-story tower, developers say. The tower, named RiverSouth by its developers, is under construction on land that was previously the site of a Hooter's restaurant. The site is bounded by South First Street, West Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road, just south of Lady Bird Lake." (Shonda Novak, Austin American-Statesman)
Environmental, neighborhood groups call for ‘rewilding’ Zilker Park "The Save Our Springs Alliance recently released a report from restoration ecologist and park planner Elizabeth McGreevy that calls for “rewilding” 75 acres of Zilker’s 350 total acres, which would reduce mowing and other maintenance that clears the parkland. Instead, the alliance and three neighborhood groups want more trails, woodlands and water features to replace areas that have been planted as lawns and used for festivals, sports and other gatherings." (Chad Swiatecki, Austin Monitor)
