BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 15, 2022)
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[FIRM NEWS]
On behalf of the Bingham Group, LLC team and Bingham Group Foundation board, we are pleased today to announce Code2College and E4 Youth as our 2022 grant recipients!
Code2College and E4 Youth, both Austin-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits, will each receive a $10,000 unrestricted grant to further their work.
LEARN MORE HERE.
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 155: Discussing Austin's Diversity and Ethnic Chamber Alliance w/Tina Cannon, CEO, Austin LGBT Chamber
Today’s episode (155) features Tina Cannon, CEO, Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce. She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discussed the recently formed Diversity and Ethnic Chamber Alliance ("DECA")
Comprised of the Austin LGBT Chamber, Greater Austin Asian Chamber, Greater Austin Black Chamber, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, DECA will facilitate their shared vision to create a Regional Economic Equity Development Plan (“REED Plan”).
The vision of the DECA collaboration is to better the integration of individuals, firms, and communities who have not shared proportionately in the overall rise in local prosperity.
The REED Plan, according to DECA, will reduce barriers and create equity for the small businesses and the workforce communities served by the Chambers.-> EPISODE LINK
[HEARINGS NEXT WEEK]
Monday, 4/18
Thursday, 4/21
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Planning Commission prods developer to talk with tenants facing displacement (Austin Monitor)
Tenants don’t often speak at public meetings on zoning cases that affect them. But when they do, people seem to listen. At least that was the case Tuesday when the Planning Commission heard from Andrew McKenna, a North Austin resident unsure where he’ll move should the city approve a proposal to redevelop the apartment complex where he lives.
“I’m very concerned about becoming homeless,” McKenna said. “That’s why I got on my bike and came down here in 90 degrees.”
Developer JCI Residential plans to build 295 apartments at 1120 and 1124 Clayton Lane, replacing the 16-unit building where McKenna lives. Alice Glasco, representing JCI, is asking the city to approve Vertical-Mixed Use (VMU) zoning, which would allow a bigger project in exchange for pricing 10 percent of the units affordably, among other requirements.
McKenna said he was not against the development. “The owner is a good guy and he deserves to retire and get out,” he said. Rather, he criticized the lack of information from the developer and the city about how tenants will be affected and what their options are.
The city did not notify McKenna of the rezoning because he doesn’t have a city utility account (his utilities are bundled with rent). Notifications are only sent to property owners and utility account holders, meaning some renters may not receive notice. “They could have easily put a note in the mailbox for 13 units,” McKenna pointed out. Tenants were, however, notified of the owner’s intent to sell.
Glasco said that she had planned to speak with tenants, but that it was still early in the process – the apartment won’t be demolished for at least a couple of years. She explained that JCI will let tenants apply to live at another of its projects, High Point Preserve, located four miles away on Highway 290… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The median sales price of a home in Austin has surpassed $600,000 (KUT)
The price of buying a home in Austin knows no other mode than acceleration, it seems.
According to the latest numbers from the Austin Board of Realtors, homes in the city sold for a median price of $624,000 in March. That represents a record-high price, and a 22% increase in sales price over the past year.
“I’m a native Austinite so when I see these increases year over year, even though I work in this business, it’s a gut punch,” Ashley Jackson, president-elect for ABOR, told KUT.
This rapid increase in prices has been the norm since the early months of the pandemic when several factors converged to increase demand for housing and to severely limit supply.
Mortgage interest rates hit a record low, meaning homebuyers could get more for their money. At the same time, some homes stayed off the market because people feared strangers coming by, potentially increasing the spread of COVID-19.
These factors only poured gasoline on an Austin market already on fire; for years, the city has struggled to provide enough homes for people wanting to buy them.
“The story before the pandemic was there was not enough supply to meet demand so you see rapid home price growth,” Joshua Roberson, lead data analyst at the Texas Real Estate Research Center, said. “In comes the pandemic and with it mortgage rates dropped to their lowest historically and that just basically took the current situation and amplified it.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
ACC celebrating Highland Campus grand opening 11 years in the making (Community Impact)
Austin Community College is celebrating the grand opening of its Highland Campus more than 10 years after work on the flagship location began.
On April 22, ACC will hold a VIP ribbon-cutting ceremony, and on April 23, the community college will hold a community open house.
ACC began purchasing the space around 6101 Highland Campus Drive, Austin, in 2011, according to the press release. The site was home to the Highland Mall from 1971-2015.
To date, ACC has spent an estimated $235 million on the Highland Campus––including buildings 1000, 2000 and 4000, according to Sydney Pruitt, ACC senior media relations coordinator. Work is ongoing on the 3000 building.
Over the last 11 years, ACC has developed the site into a 1.2 million-square-foot campus that can serve 21,000 students. The campus will offer 20 programs, including a center for digital media and a STEM lab… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Gov. Greg Abbott announces deals with two more Mexican governors to halt Texas’ vehicle inspections at the border (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott announced two more deals with Mexican governors that will halt the new commercial vehicle inspections at international bridges that have bogged down border commerce.
Abbott and Chihuahua Gov. María Eugenia Campos Galván announced their agreement Thursday evening. Hours later, Abbott's office announced an agreement with Coahuila Gov. Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís. Chihuahua has a major border crossing at Ciudad Juárez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso. Coahuila shares international bridges with Del Rio and Eagle Pass.
Abbott said state troopers will continue inspecting every commercial truck entering Texas from Tamaulipas, which shares border crossings with McAllen and Brownsville… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Air Force vows to protect service families from states — like Texas — that target LGBTQ people (San Antonio Express-News)
The Air Force has issued a reminder to service members that it can help protect them from anti-LGBTQ state initiatives, such as the one in Texas that raised the possibility of child welfare investigations against parents with transgender children. The guidance, issued by Air Force Undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones, said the service would use medical, legal and other resources to support its personnel who run into such problems. “We are closely tracking state laws and legislation to ensure we prepare for and mitigate effects to our airmen, guardians and their families,” Jones said, using “guardians” as the official shorthand for members of the U.S. Space Force. “Medical, legal resources, and various assistance are available for those who need them.”
“The health, care and resilience of our personnel and their families is not just our top priority - it’s essential to our ability to accomplish the mission,” she said, according to a news release. Jones is a San Antonio native and Air Force veteran who is gay and served in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era. Her message seemed at least partly a response to this year’s order by Gov. Greg Abbott that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services investigate parents providing gender-affirming care to their transgender children. Issued in February, Abbott’s directive cited an opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton that said such care, which includes hormone therapy and has been sanctioned by the nation’s mainstream medical associations, constitutes child abuse. Before the Third Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the state on March 22 from carrying out the policy until lawsuits against it are resolved, Texas Child Protective Services had investigated at least nine families. A Pentagon-based Air Force spokeswoman, Ann Stefanek, noted Wednesday that there were no cases in which its troops had come under state scrutiny… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Elon Musk makes $43 billion bid for Twitter, says ‘Civilization’ at stake (Wall Street Journal)
Elon Musk went full-on corporate raider a week into his rolling clash with Twitter Inc., offering a $43 billion bid for the company and warning he might sell his stake in the service if rebuffed.
The Thursday offer was the latest in a will-he-or-won’t-he saga between the world’s richest person and the social-media service. The offer was at once serious—Mr. Musk disclosed it in a federal filing—and at the same time tinged with humor, as the offer was for $54.20 per share, a barely veiled marijuana reference.
Twitter confirmed it had received the offer and said its board would review the proposal. It is also weighing a so-called poison pill, a legal mechanism that would prevent Mr. Musk from significantly increasing his stake in the company, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Investors were unimpressed; Twitter shares fell nearly 2% to $45.08 per share, indicating skepticism that a deal would happen… (LINK TO FULL STORY)