About the Author
Chad Swiatecki is a 20-year journalist who relocated to Austin from his home state of Michigan in 2008. He most enjoys covering the intersection of arts, business and local/state politics. He has written for Rolling Stone, Spin, New York Daily News, Texas Monthly, Austin American-Statesman and many other regional and national outlets.
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Stories by Chad Swiatecki
Thursday, July 18, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
City Hall
City moving toward greater scrutiny, and possible rent hikes, on nonprofit leases
Nonprofit organizations operating on city properties will likely be expected to put a dollar value on the services they provide to the community, and could face higher rents after years of lease agreements at far below market rate.In May, the…
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Politics
Save Our Springs backers among major supporters of anti-convention center PAC
Campaign finance reports filed Monday showed that longtime members and financial supporters of the Save Our Springs Alliance have pledged the bulk of the funding that is supporting a political action committee attempting to force a public vote on the…
Monday, July 15, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Transportation
Transportation Department lays out plans for speed management
The Austin Transportation Department will ask City Council for $500,000 in new funding in the next budget to pay for a speed management program that will support Vision Zero’s goal to eliminate traffic deaths in the city.The funding would pay…
Friday, July 12, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
By decriminalizing homelessness, Austin stumbles into legalized busking
The city’s recent changes to ordinances intended to decriminalize homelessness may have, in a roundabout way, provided a new way for Austin musicians to earn money while also ending a years-long legal stalemate.The issue in question centers around busking, the…
Thursday, July 11, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
Music Commission set to finalize proposal process for creative space bonds
The city’s Music Commission hopes to make a decision by September on how arts and music groups will be able to submit proposals to receive some of the city’s $12 million in creative spaces funding.At last week’s meeting, commissioners agreed,…
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Transit
Council to mull funding for incentives to increase transit use
The Austin Transportation Department has delivered its findings to City Council on how the city could start small programs that would provide incentives to some riders of public transit. The report, which included 15 potential pilot programs, was given to…
Monday, July 8, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Parks
Walter E. Long Park plan, all $800 million of it, gets parks board approval
With an eventual price tag expected to exceed $800 million and a timeline likely stretching more than two decades, members of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Board unanimously voted to approve a new master plan for East Austin’s Walter E. Long…
Tuesday, July 2, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Parks
Parks working group to look for new revenue options
The city’s parks board is set to look for new ways to fund the needs of the city’s parks system, in an attempt to deal with anticipated tight city budgets as a result of coming caps on revenue enacted by…
Monday, July 1, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Short-term rental conference examines taxes, nuisances, compliance
Leaders of the national travel and lodging industry and local government officials involved in the evolving short-term rental economy will convene in Austin next month for what is believed to be the first-ever conference devoted to the issue.City regulators, property…
Friday, June 28, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Housing
Area builders warn of worker shortage impacts on affordable housing
As robust and active as the Austin building and development world appears to be, professionals in the construction industry say an ongoing labor shortage is stifling building activity and could present problems for the city’s push to add affordable housing…
Thursday, June 27, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Convention center proponents eyeing new PAC to challenge expected ballot question
Mayor Steve Adler’s former campaign manager is preparing to launch a political action committee to lobby in favor of the proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center if a group pushing a ballot question challenging the expansion succeeds in its…
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Planning
Plan for ‘Statesman’ site precedes PUD amendment, push for funding options
The development team in charge of the waterfront property that houses the Austin American-Statesman newspaper plans to file an amendment to a planned unit development proposal for the site in the coming weeks, kicking off an expected year of negotiations…
Friday, June 21, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
City Council
Council vote OKs move to open homeless housing center in South Austin
The city’s second homeless shelter will be located in South Austin, as a result of a unanimous vote by City Council on Thursday to approve the purchase of an office building that will be converted into a 100-bed facility, possibly…
Thursday, June 20, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
Music advocates push for portion of possible hotel tax increase
Local groups organized around improving the financial standing of Austin musicians are preparing to push city leaders to dedicate funds from the proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center toward the city’s commercial music industry.The groups include Music Moves Austin,…
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Austin
Kitchen, Tovo to push for speed in addressing housing, cultural preservation efforts
City Council members who have in the past pushed to create an external entity to pursue public/private partnerships and other opportunities focused around city priorities appear ready to direct staff to accelerate the process.In a report completed late last month,…
Monday, June 17, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
City Council
City to pay up to $8.6M for South Austin parcel for new homeless shelter
City Council is expected to vote this week on approving the purchase of a commercial building in South Austin that will serve as the city’s second homeless shelter.A pair of resolutions slated for Thursday’s Council meeting spells out the details…
Thursday, June 13, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Parks
Amphitheater, planetarium among $880M in improvements planned for Walter Long Park
Money from last year’s bond package approved by voters in November is expected to be used to fund the first of hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements and development at Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park in East Austin.Family-style recreation…
Wednesday, June 12, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
Survey says spend creative spaces money throughout East Austin
More than 600 respondents to a recent survey have weighed in to push for the city to use $12 million in bond money to create multiple performance centers for arts and music uses in East Austin.Initial results of the survey,…
Friday, June 7, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Bonds & Propositions
Music Commission eyes minority populations in allocating $12M for creative spaces
Leaders from the arts and music communities appear to be leaning toward splitting up $12 million in city bond funds for creative spaces based on the city’s racial and gender demographics, in a move to emphasize equity and inclusion.At Monday’s…
Thursday, June 6, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Entertainment & Events
City releases road map for ‘agent of change,’ sound compatibility issues
The city’s Economic Development and Development Services departments will spend much of the next 12 months implementing a variety of measures to reduce noise complaints and other issues that arise between residents and nearby entertainment businesses.On Wednesday, EDD released a…
