BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 11, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Statesman PUD wins unanimous support from Planning Commission (Austin Monitor)
A massive mixed-use development planned for the former Austin American-Statesman site moved one step closer to approval Tuesday, receiving the unanimous recommendation of the Planning Commission – but not before commissioners spent several hours debating changes they would like to see to the planned unit development.
Preliminary plans for the 19-acre site at 305 S. Congress Ave. include 1,378 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of offices, a 275-room hotel, and 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurants all spread across six towers ranging from 215 to 525 feet tall.
The development is set to transform its stretch of Lady Bird Lake waterfront. Eight acres of parks and public spaces are planned, including a boardwalk, bat-watching area, reconstructed hike-and-bike trail, and spaces the development team dubs the Great Lawn and Great Steps.
Several transportation projects are also planned on or near the site, including an extended Barton Springs Road, a new street grid with wide sidewalks and bike lanes in some places, and a station for Project Connect’s Blue Line light rail. The developer plans to build 4,000 parking spaces mostly underground.
The team behind the project includes developer Endeavor Real Estate Group, architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Armbrust & Brown attorney Richard Suttle.
The Planning Commission already discussed the PUD in December, but commissioners wanted more time to craft a recommendation. Since then, a small working group met several times and drafted 18 amendments to the PUD. On Tuesday, the commission spent over five hours discussing and modifying the amendments, most of which ultimately passed… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
EMS interim chief optimistic about future of the department (Austin Monitor)
With 124 vacancies that need filling to round out the medic force, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services is applying a variety of methods to try to close the gaps, interim Chief Jasper Brown told the City Council Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.
Brown delivered an update on staffing levels and the functions of each rank, which served as both a refresher for Council members and a primer for new District 4 Council Member Chito Vela. He and Council Member Paige Ellis are the newest members of the committee, joining Chair Natasha Harper-Madison and Vice Chair Mackenzie Kelly.
Brown noted that the next briefing to the committee could present a different picture as the Austin EMS Association continues negotiating a new contract, with talks centering on staffing levels, promotions, the reduction or elimination of mandatory overtime, and a more competitive pay scale. City negotiators have already rejected the union’s initial pay proposal, but the two sides are working toward a salary level acceptable to both sides.
While Brown’s perspective on negotiations is from a management view, he says he’s optimistic about the outcome of the negotiations. “I think there will be good things that come out of it,” he said, referring in this case to barriers to successfully recruiting medics from outside of Austin. The barriers range from pay scale to requirements to achieve rank within the department… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City of Austin announces Director of Economic Development (City of Austin)
The City of Austin has appointed Sylnovia Holt-Rabb as the City’s next Director of Economic Development.
“I am very happy to announce Sylnovia Holt-Rabb as the City’s next Director of Economic Development. Her extensive experience in Economic Development matters will continue to be crucial to driving the department’s programs to ensure Austin area creative and business economies have economic opportunities and resources that enable them to thrive in our community,” said Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales.
Holt-Rabb has more than 20 years of experience in the public sector and has worked for the City of Austin for 21 years. She has served as the Acting Director of Economic Development since March 2020. During her tenure as Acting Director, the Economic Development Department launched 13 unique pandemic-related financial assistance programs distributing more than $50 million to aid individuals, non-profits, and small business. Prior to that role, she served as the Assistant Director of Economic
Development. She previously served as the Finance Manager for the Economic Development and the Housing and Planning Department… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Billion-dollar European urban farming company to eat up industrial space south of Austin (Austin Business Journal)
A fast-growing, billion-dollar urban farming company based in Europe is opening its second U.S. growing center in Kyle as the area becomes a hotbed for sustainable farming.
Infarm and the city of Kyle's economic development department announced on Feb. 9 that the company will occupy a 73,000-square-foot space at the Plum Creek Industrial Center at 19200 Marketplace Ave. That's roughly the size of an H-E-B grocery store.
Infarm will employ about 30 people and open within six months.
"The U.S. plays a significant role in our global expansion plans. Opening our next Growing Centre (sic) in Texas is strategically important for Infarm as Texas and the region around Austin are high-potential markets for our fresh produce," CEO and co-founder Erez Galonska said in a statement. "When fully equipped, the Growing Center will be able to feed more than 18 million people living in the Texas Triangle, bringing fresh produce from our controlled, localized systems that minimize climate and supply chain risk by growing food reliably 24/7, 365 days per year close to consumers."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
May election called for Cedar Park mayor, 3 council member seats (Community Impact)
Cedar Park voters will cast ballots for Cedar Park's mayor and three city council seats in the May 7 election.
Council members approved resolutions with Williamson and Travis counties Feb. 10 to call the election. Early voting will begin April 25 and end May 3.
Cedar Park Mayor Corbin Van Arsdale is not seeking reelection after two terms as mayor. Place 1 Council Member Jim Penniman-Morin is running for mayor.
Place 2 Council Member Mel Kirkland, Place 4 Council Member Eric Boyce and Place 6 Council Member Heather Jefts are running for reelection. No other candidates have filed to run as of Feb. 10.
Cedar Park council members are elected at large and serve two-year terms…. (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Dallas needs to review winter storm response, mayor says (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says he wants an internal review of the city’s response to last week’s winter storm and more details from DART on why the agency shut down rail and bus service amid the freeze. In a Tuesday memo to City Manager T.C. Broadnax, Johnson requested a report by Feb. 25 detailing what went right and wrong with the city’s efforts as well as areas to build on in preparation for future severe weather events. The City Council would likely receive a public briefing on the report the following week on Mar. 2. He asked Broadnax to also involve officials from DART and electric utility Oncor in the review and council briefing. The transit agency for the first time in its history temporarily shut down all service during the storm last week.
In addition to this year’s storm being less severe than in February 2021, the city was more prepared ahead of the snowfall which included plans for mass homeless shelter and warming center options. There were also plans in place for water distribution for residents if necessary. “The stakes are simply too high for us to declare victory and move forward without reflection,” Johnson wrote. “For the sake of our residents’ well-being, we must commit to creating a culture of continuous improvement in our city government, especially when it comes to emergency responses.” Rocky Vaz, Dallas’ emergency management office director, told The Dallas Morning News last week that though city staff have had meetings to review last year’s winter storm response, no formal report reviewing the effort has ever been done. At least one council member, Chad West, said he asked for a report. Dallas, like most Texas cities, was caught mostly unprepared for the fallout caused by last February’s snow, freezing temperatures and dayslong power outages caused by the state’s failing grid… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Employees at San Antonio Starbucks store seek to unionize, becoming first in Texas to do so (San Antonio Express-News)
Employees at a Starbucks on San Antonio’s North Side are the first in Texas to join a growing campaign among the coffee chain’s workforce to unionize. Baristas at Starbucks’ Loop 410 and Vance Jackson Road location filed Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election. Starbucks Workers United, a union representing Buffalo, N.Y., employees and helping other stores organize, said the San Antonio location — which employs 27 workers — is the only Texas store so far that has petitioned for an election. “Howdy, partners! Texas is joining the party,” the union tweeted along with a copy of a letter addressed to Starbucks president and CEO Kevin Johnson and signed by nine employees.
“We work hard to provide consistency and connection with our customers — now it’s time for Starbucks to connect with our homes and our realities,” the Starbucks workers said in the letter. Workers United Southwest Regional Joint Board, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, is listed as a petitioner on the NLRB filing. A company spokesperson said, “Our position hasn’t changed: Starbucks success — past, present and future — is built on how we partner together, always with our mission and values at our core.” Local organizers at the Loop 410 store did not respond to inquiries. “As essential workers we have essential needs in order to care for and service this community we love that we will fight for,” tweeted Gaz Garcia, one of the Starbucks employees who signed the letter to the chain’s CEO. “Starbucks decided we were essential workers while stores stayed open through the pandemic,” Garcia added. “If we’re going to be classified as essential in these times we should be able to have the resources we need to run our store and keep our employees healthy and taken care of.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Zillow’s shuttered home-flipping business lost $881 Million in 2021 (Wall Street Journal)
Zillow Group said on Thursday that it lost $881 million on its algorithmic-driven home-flipping business last year in its first earnings report since the real-estate company shut down that operation in the fall.
The full company, which includes Zillow’s profitable home-listing and advertising business, posted a consolidated net loss of $528 million in 2021, mostly because of its home-flipping business, Zillow Offers.
The flipping outfit had been responsible for the majority of Zillow’s revenue in recent years but none of its profits.
The company shocked the market in November by announcing it was closing Zillow Offers because the tech-powered platform failed to accurately predict movements in home prices… (LINK TO FULL STORY)