Tag Archives: affordable housing
Council orders overhaul of SMART housing program
City Council voted this week to proceed with an overhaul of the SMART housing program. The SMART (Safe, Mixed-Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced, Transit-Oriented) housing program grants certain fee waivers to housing developments that agree to include affordable housing. The list…
Housing • By Nina Hernandez • Jul 21, 2023
District-by-district analysis shows unequal progress on affordable housing construction
The nonprofit HousingWorks Austin on June 29 released its eighth “District by District and Community at a Glance Analysis,” an annual report that shows how many units of subsidized affordable housing have been built in each City Council district, as…
Housing • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 10, 2023
County gives final OK for millions toward low-income housing at Juniper Creek
The Travis County Commissioners Court on June 27 approved a measure funding an affordable housing contract for Foundation Communities, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing and subrecipient of the Juniper Creek development contract. The money is sourced from the Coronavirus…
Planning • By Seth Smalley • Jul 3, 2023
Council proposes allowing more homes in single-family zoning
City Council on Thursday voted to create a program that would allow more homes on single-family lots, as long as some homes are priced affordably. “What we are trying to accomplish here, from a high level, is to create an…
City Council • By Jonathan Lee • Jun 12, 2023
Panelists eye affordability pains in music, EMS, hospitality sectors
Leaders from two of Austin’s most prominent economic sectors – housing and hospitality – see passage of a new Land Development Code and eliminating the tipped minimum wage for restaurant staff as two long-needed steps to address increasing affordability concerns…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • May 30, 2023
City looks to train, grow new developers to target affordable housing
Smaller developers without years of experience in the Austin market are invited to participate in a new city housing program designed with the goal of creating more affordable housing throughout the city. Applications are open for the Austin Small Developer…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • May 2, 2023
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Austin wants more community benefits from projects on city-owned land
The city is looking at how to improve many of the activities it takes in redeveloping publicly owned properties, with a special eye on increasing community benefits such as affordable housing in projects such as the Austin Convention Center. A…
Planning • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 24, 2023
The University of Texas says it will help low-income students pay for housing
University of Texas students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year may be able to get money to cover a portion of their on-campus rent for one academic year. University officials teased the new program in an op-ed in the Austin American–Statesman last…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 20, 2023
Council allocates next three years of Project Connect anti-displacement funds
The city continued allocation of Project Connect’s $300 million anti-displacement budget last week. At its regular meeting on April 13, City Council voted to approve a resolution allocating the funds for the next three fiscal years. The first round of…
Transit • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 19, 2023
3D home printer opens $1M competition as 'affordability moonshot'
Austin-based 3D-printed home manufacturer Icon is looking for designers and college students from all over the world to propose advancements in architecture that could bring the cost of homes under $99,000. The company announced its Initiative 99 contest on Wednesday…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 16, 2023
Doggett celebrates federal funding to benefit Foundation Communities
At a Tuesday press conference, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett and Foundation Communities celebrated $3.5 million in federal funds that will go toward three of the local housing nonprofit’s programs serving low- and middle-income families in Austin. “Before affordability was a…
Housing • By Nina Hernandez • Mar 15, 2023
More than 70 percent of Austin ISD employees are burdened by housing costs, survey finds
Lee esta historia en español More than 70 percent Austin Independent School District employees are burdened by the cost of housing in the city, according to an online survey the district conducted this year. Many of the respondents said the…
