Rezoning vote for old Statesman site delayed
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/...x_testVariant=cx_21&cx_artPos=6#cxrecs_s
Mike Christen – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
Sep 2, 2022
The future of the former Austin-American Statesman headquarters remains to be decided.
Austin City Council on Sept. 1 postponed a second reading on whether to rezone 305 South Congress Ave. to allow for its transformation into a major mixed-use development. Prior to reaching that item the agenda, Council chose to end the meeting at about 10:30 p.m., more than 12 hours after it began.
The item could return to future Council meetings on Sept. 15 and Sept. 29.
Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group LLC wants to rezone the 19-acre tract as a planned unit development so it can build higher than city ordinances would otherwise allow. The so-called Statesman PUD could have 1,378 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of offices, a 275-room hotel and 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space across six towers, according to previously released plans.
The proposal has been working through City Hall for months, and received first reading approval in April. However, it remains the subject of debate over how much affordable housing and other community benefits are included. Council previously postponed voting on July 28.
During the public comment portion of the Sept. 1 meeting, similar concerns were raised, with resident Bill Oliver taking the podium with resident Bill Oliver taking the podium with a guitar in hand signing a recommendation that the city should turn the entire property into a park.
Others shared that they would like to see the property be transformed into more affordable housing than what is being offered by the developer. Endeavor previously proposed making at least 4% of the project's residential units income-restricted affordable housing, in accordance with the city’s South Central Waterfront Initiative.
"We can't allow developers to continue business as usual," said Rachel Melendez, a member of hospitality union Unite Here Local 23. "You have an opportunity right now to decide what kind of city we are going to live in and what kind of city we are going to have."
Proponents of the plan say it is needed to bring density and more housing to the south side of Lady Bird Lake as Austin rapidly grows. They also point out the Statesman PUD is expected to be a catalyst for development of the wider South Central Waterfront, which encompasses 118 acres.