BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 17, 2021)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
With the help of city subsidies, over 3,000 affordable homes are in the pipeline (Austin Monitor)
The Housing and Planning Department presented an update on the city’s development subsidy programs for affordable housing at Tuesday’s Housing and Planning Committee.
“We know that it’s not enough, but we are proud of seeing that pipeline get filled,” said James May, community development manager with the department.
“This solution of the city coming in and providing subsidies I think is critical if we want to keep low-income people in the city,” Council Member Greg Casar said.
The Austin Housing Finance Corporation offers a few ways to help developers make income-restricted affordable housing financially feasible. Two programs, Rental Housing Development Assistance (RHDA) and Ownership Housing Development Assistance (OHDA), provide direct assistance to developers who build income-restricted housing. The department also funds permanent supportive housing (PSH) and continuum of care (CoC), two types of housing services for people who have experienced homelessness.
Most of the development assistance funding – approximately 75 percent – comes from general obligation bonds, like the 2018 affordable housing bond. As those funds run out, Project Connect’s $300 million anti-displacement fund, the city’s largest-ever investment in affordable housing, is likely to become the main source of revenue over the next several years.
Because the city tries to keep development assistance under $50,000 per unit – units often cost between $175,000 and $200,000 to build, according to Mandy De Mayo with Housing and Planning – projects that participate in the programs typically get additional funding and incentives from other sources, such as the state’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. “We really work with our development partners to leverage our dollars with additional funding sources,” De Mayo said.
Currently there aren’t enough funds for all of the projects seeking assistance. Ten projects have asked for a total of $39 million in RHDA funding in the last quarter of this fiscal year, more than the department can offer. “If we were to approve or recommend approval for all of these investments, it would cost us a little over $39 million, which is a large number that we don’t have,” May said. “Which is why our staff works with these developers to not only drive these numbers down, but to select the appropriate investment at the right time.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Deadly Austin mass shooting began as confrontation between Killeen teenagers, police say (Austin American-Statesman)
Downtown Austin appeared to be back in the pre-pandemic swing of things last weekend, with hordes of visitors reveling on Sixth Street. But, according to police, a confrontation between teenagers from Killeen led to an exchange of gunfire that killed one person and injured 13 more. The shooting — the city's worst mass casualty incident in seven years — claimed the life of Douglas Kantor, a 25-year-old tourist. The New York native who lived in Michigan had come down to Texas to hang out with some old friends in Austin but may simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
An arrest affidavit Austin police filed Wednesday morning for Jeremiah Tabb, one of two people arrested in connection with the shooting, cited witness accounts to describe the moments leading up to the shooting. Although the document connects Tabb to at least one shooting injury, it but does not indicate who wounded any of the other victims. Tabb, 17, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to the shooting. He was not listed as being in the Travis County Jail on Wednesday. The other person arrested is younger than 17 and, because they are a juvenile, police have not released any information on them. Investigators used social media and witness interviews to connect the dots on how teenagers from Killeen ended up in downtown Austin that night. A juvenile witness, whose full name was not revealed in the affidavit, was interviewed by police after they found out he was sent to Dell Seton Medical Center after being wounded in the shooting… (LINK TO STORY)
With Council approval, new EDC moves forward (Austin Monitor)
City Council has approved the interlocal agreement that will allow the newly created Austin Economic Development Corporation to begin conducting its business, which will be focused around real estate projects addressing affordability and gentrification concerns.
The unanimous vote last week came after years of planning and strategizing to decide how the city could create and execute business deals quickly enough to involve private industry while still leveraging the municipal powers around taxing and infrastructure creation.
Among the first priorities for the EDC – which could be renamed Austin Public Development Corporation in the near future – is issuing a request for proposals this summer related to arts space acquisition using two funding sources; $12 million in bond money approved by voters in 2018 for creative space preservation, and $2.4 million recently approved by Council to help iconic venues at risk of closure or redevelopment.
That RFP will seek out current venue occupants at risk of closure that the city could purchase and then provide the operators with more favorable lease terms. It will also look for arts groups that could partner in occupying and managing a larger space the city would purchase, or possibly provide space via its portfolio of existing properties that could be repurposed.
Affordability concerns for arts spaces and other small businesses in the city’s core have grown in recent years as the local real estate market has become one of the most attractive in the country. Recent statistics put the price of the median single-family home in the Austin area at more than $450,000, with median prices in the city’s core climbing to just over $550,000.
Matt Kwatinetz, the real estate and development consultant who has worked with the city for more than a decade toward the EDC’s creation, said the EDC’s mission around affordability is more important than ever.
“It’s important to think cyclically and also long term, because there is no silver bullet to fix this issue. Just like a private real estate developer builds a portfolio over time, we must also do that but there’s one big advantage when the public side decides to get in the real estate game and that’s we have an infinite time horizon since we don’t have to flip (a project) out to get our investors a return. Each property we get, whether it’s a music space or a housing space, can be permanently affordable from that point.”
In addition to the cultural trust RFP, Kwatinetz said other areas of concern for the EDC include affordability and anti-gentrification projects tied to the cap-and-stitch plan for I-35, and the redevelopment of the South Central Waterfront district just south of the Congress Avenue bridge… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin-area housing market continues to break records, even as affordability concerns loom (Austin American-Statesman)
May was another record-setting month for the Central Texas housing market.
The median home-sales price reached all-time highs both in the five-county region and within Austin's city limits — $465,000 and $566,500 respectively, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.
Some real estate agents say prospective buyers are pushing back, weary of the rising prices. That's causing a reduction in the number of offers some homes are receiving, they say.
In terms of volume, sales across the region reached a high for any May on record, rising 48% year over year with 3,976 sales, the board said. Monthly housing inventory dipped 1.5 months to a critically-low supply of just two weeks, the board said in its latest monthly housing report.
Within Austin's city limits, sales were up 54.5% with 1,270 homes changing hands.
“Austin’s housing market has become one of the most competitive markets in the U.S.,” Susan Horton, the board's president, said in a written statement.
Underscoring a familiar theme, Horton said the region's housing demand "has created a critical inventory shortage, reinforcing that affordability and accessibility to housing across our region is a real concern and should be a top priority for local leaders."… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting Sept. 1, after Gov. Greg Abbott signs permitless carry bill into law (Texas Tribune)
Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting Sept. 1, after Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed the permitless carry bill into law.
House Bill 1927 eliminates the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. The signing was reported by the Texas Legislature's official website, which tracks the progress of legislation. Abbott's office has announced a ceremonial signing of the bill and other gun-related legislation at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Abbott's signature seals a win to conservative activists who have long sought the measure without success. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republicans who were initially noncommittal about the bill were under immense political pressure this session from conservatives and gun rights advocates, who have long lobbied the Texas Legislature for permitless carry but historically struggled to win support… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas bullet train group inks deal with Milan design firm (Associated Press)
The developer of a long-planned — and controversial — high-speed rail line that would get passengers from Dallas to Houston in 90 minutes announced Tuesday that it signed a $16 billion contract with an Italian company to build the project, in what could be a step toward realization. Webuild, based in Milan, will oversee heavy construction of the planned 236-mile project for developer Texas Central, the companies said in a news release. Webuild will operate through U.S. subsidiary Cheshire, Connecticut-based Lane Construction Corporation. Nearly half the distance the bullet train will cover — at speeds up to 200-mph — will be elevated to reduce the impact on property owners, the companies said.
Residents have fought the high-speed train, which has been discussed for decades and would rely on acquiring land through eminent domain to construct the rail line. Trey Duhon, who heads a group called Texans Against High-Speed Rail, criticized Tuesday's announcement, saying it was just the developer continuing to try to drum up support for an unpopular project. "Texas Central takes every opportunity to generate what sounds like progress to keep interest and investments alive," said Duhon, who also is the highest-ranking elected official in Waller County, outside Houston.
"Texas Central has been reporting that construction will begin ‘within the next six months,’ ‘later this year' or ‘soon’ for the last five years." Webuild CEO Pietro Salini said the project brings further focus to the company's work in the U.S., its single biggest market. "Being part of such a challenging project as leader of the design and construction of the railway is a unique experience that we are extremely proud of," Salini said. Webuild was created in 2020 from Salini Impregilo, a leading player in major infrastructure projects that acquired Lane in 2016 and more recently Italy’s Astaldi engineering firm. Building the project will employ 17,000 people directly, Webuild said. The rail link itself would use Japanese bullet train technology and would employ 1,500 people once completed… (LINK TO STORY)
Gov. Greg Abbott announces Texas is providing initial $250 million "down payment" for border wall (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced some new details of his plan for Texas to build its own border wall, starting with the hiring process for a program manager and providing $250 million in state funds as a "down payment."
"Texas will build a border wall in our state to help secure our border," Abbott said.
The governor did not specify how long the wall would be, where it would be built or the total cost of the project, saying that those decisions will need to be determined by a program manager. On Wednesday, Abbott directed the Texas Facilities Commission to hire a program manager to begin that work.
A commitment to building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border was a hallmark of former President Donald Trump’s time in office. His administration built about 450 miles of barrier, mostly in Arizona, according to The Washington Post. But Trump, who is touring the border with Abbott later this month, also met fierce resistance from private property owners unwilling to allow the federal government to build on their land.
Abbott said he expected people to both donate their own money and volunteer their land for the barrier.
"My belief based upon conversations that I've already had is that the combination of state land as well as volunteer land will yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall in Texas," he said… (LINK TO STORY)
'The lieutenant governor is just a jerk': Lyle Larson takes on Dan Patrick (San Antonio Express-News)
Lyle Larson recently completed his sixth regular legislative session in the Texas House. The last four of those sessions have been dominated by the presence of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, whose relentless culture-war crusades often divert the Legislature from handling the most pressing issues in the state. Larson guested on this week’s episode of the Express-News’s Puro Politics podcast, and he made no effort to conceal his disdain for Patrick. Larson commended his old friend and fellow San Antonio Republican, Joe Straus, for being “able to knock the crazy off the train” during Straus’ tenure as speaker of the House.
Patrick frequently derided Straus for not doing enough to facilitate the most divisive pieces of Patrick’s agenda. This year, Patrick leveled similar criticisms at Dade Phelan, the new House speaker. “The lieutenant governor is just a jerk,” Larson said. “He’s not a good man. I’ve had meetings face-to-face. He’s soulless. “You look into his eyes and there’s nothing there. He’s got a lot of hostility. He’s a control freak. He’s got a lot of things you don’t want in leadership.” Larson said he was “dismayed” to learn that Patrick will seek another term in 2022 and added that he hopes a viable GOP primary challenger emerges to spare the state from the “nonsense” inflicted on it by the lieutenant governor. “I’m not certain what drives him. I think he’s got some psychological issues. He’s got just an insatiable desire for power. I think it’s time for him to see the gate and get out the gate.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Gov. Abbott signs Texas medical marijuana expansion into law (San Antonio Express-News)
Texans with post-traumatic stress disorder and any form of cancer will soon be eligible to receive medical marijuana. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed an expansion of the state’s restrictive medical marijuana program into law, also opening access to individuals participating in research initiatives. The measure, House Bill 1535, takes effect Sept. 1. “This new law is an important step forward for veterans, cancer patients and many other Texans,” said Nick Etten, a former Navy SEAL and founder of the Veterans Cannabis Project, who noted that many Texas veterans cope with PTSD. “Moving forward, we will continue to work with lawmakers in future legislative sessions to build on this law, develop a broader approach towards medical cannabis, and make sure it is a truly effective medical tool for the veterans who gave so much for our country.”
The law is a victory for Texas’ medical marijuana advocates, though many were disappointed that the bill was stripped of its biggest changes during the legislative process. HB 1535 originated in the Texas House, where lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a version of the measure that would have also expanded eligibility to patients with any condition that causes acute or chronic pain, and that would have given the state health department the ability to approve other conditions. The lower chamber’s version also would have increased the legal limit for THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, from .5 percent to 5 percent. But those provisions were taken out once the bill made its way to the Texas Senate, which limited the program’s expansion to PTSD and cancer patients. Previously, only patients with terminal cancer and a few acute seizure disorders could access medical marijuana. The upper chamber also agreed to increase the legal limit for THC, but only up to 1 percent. Texas is among 47 states and four territories that offer medical marijuana programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures… (LINK TO STORY)
Corruption trial of Dallas developer opens with testimony of disgraced ex-council member (Dallas Morning News)
Dwaine Caraway’s phone rang as the Dallas City Council member was meeting with FBI agents and prosecutors in his attorney’s office to hash out a plea deal in a school bus kickback case. It was Ruel Hamilton, a local developer of affordable housing, and he “needed a favor,” prosecutors said. FBI agents, scarcely believing their luck, had been interested in Hamilton’s activities for a while, so they asked Caraway to call him back, prosecutors said. Caraway agreed and, prompted by agents, asked the developer for a meeting the following morning in his office so the FBI could record it. That meeting would lead to another federal corruption case — one involving Hamilton and his business before the City Council. Jurors in Hamilton’s federal bribery trial on Tuesday heard two different interpretations of that 2018 encounter.
It’s one of several key events that are hotly contested by prosecutors and Hamilton’s attorneys in his public corruption trial, which kicked off this week before Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham told jurors that Hamilton, 65, wrote Caraway a $7,000 check during the 2018 meeting after the council member asked for financial help for his and his mother’s medical expenses. Meacham said during opening statements on Tuesday that the check was a bribe. Hamilton also is accused of paying bribes to another former council member, Carolyn Davis, for help with his housing developments in the city. Hamilton needed lucrative and highly competitive tax credits — awarded through the city — for his housing developments, Meacham said. One of the developer’s projects, Royal Crest apartments, was in Caraway’s district and did not meet the city’s requirements for public financing, Meacham said. But the City Council approved it anyway because of Davis’ efforts, he said… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Realtors call for nation to view homes as 'critical infrastructure' (Houston Chronicle)
The National Association of Realtors called for the government to begin viewing housing as critical infrastructure and to boost the amount of resources invested in building more homes in a report released Wednesday morning. “Following decades of underbuilding and underinvestment, the state of America’s housing stock, which is among the most critical pieces of our national infrastructure, is dire,” the report said. It called the scale of underbuilding “enormous” and a major reason for the current affordability crisis. Fixing the problem, it found, would “require a major commitment to build more housing of all types by expanding resources, addressing barriers to new development and making new housing construction an integral part of a national infrastructure strategy.”
The report, authored by the real estate economics consulting firm Rosen Consulting Group, found that the United States is 6.8 million housing units short of a balanced market, and that to address that gap, builders would have to construct 2 million units a year. That’s a 60 percent increase over the 1.3 million units a year. The housing gap has been caused, in part, by a slowdown in building. Between 1968 and 2000, the number of housing units in the United States grew an average 1.7 percent a year. That slowed this century to an average 1 percent a year, and in the last decade things slowed even more: the housing stock grew at a rate of 0.7 percent a year. That’s in line with population growth over the past decade, but Rosen Consulting Group said the lack of building has shifted the average age of housing stock over the past two decades, meaning a larger share of homes will reach the point of “functional obsolescence” in coming years… (LINK TO STORY)
EU Members agree to lift travel restrictions on U.S. tourists (NPR)
The European Union is recommending that its 27 member countries start lifting restrictions on tourists from the United States.
EU members agreed Wednesday to add the U.S. to the list of countries for which they should gradually remove restrictions on non-essential travel. The move was adopted during a meeting in Brussels of permanent representatives to the bloc.
The recommendation is non-binding, and national governments have authority to require test results or vaccination records and to set other entry conditions.
The EU has no unified COVID-19 tourism or border policy, but has been working for months on a joint digital travel certificate for those vaccinated, freshly tested, or recently recovered from the virus. EU lawmakers endorsed the plan last week.
The free certificates, which will contain a QR code with advanced security features, will allow people to move between European countries without having to quarantine or undergo extra coronavirus tests upon arrival.
Several EU countries have already begun using the system, including Belgium, Spain, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Poland. The rest are expected to start using it July 1… (LINK TO STORY)