BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 17, 2022)
[HEARINGS]
TODAY
Action taken by the City Council during the meeting of: Thursday, June 16, 2022
Note: This is the final Council meeting before the Summer recess (June 17 - July 25)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Amid affordability crisis, Austin could hike hourly minimum wage for city employees to $22 (Austin Monitor)
Low-wage city employees could see their pay go up to $22 an hour in October. City Council on Thursday unanimously approved raising the minimum wage for city workers as Austin’s affordability crisis worsens.
“$22 is not a lot,” Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who sponsored the bill, said. “We’re just trying to get up to the base level of what it costs to live (in Austin).”
Item 50 doesn’t guarantee the $22 raise will occur. Instead, it directs City Manager Spencer Cronk to include the $22 raise – or the highest amount possible – in the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts in October. All city workers, including contract, part-time, temporary and sworn employees, would get the raise. City staff vacancies are at 17 percent across the board, according to the resolution, with emergency medical services at 25 percent and the Austin Police Department at 19 percent.
Dozens of city employees addressed Council in support of the increase. Many of them were EMS workers who described working long hours, facing assault and having to shut down ambulances due to staffing shortages. Multiple speakers said they know of co-workers who are leaving to take other jobs with higher wages… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin moves to seize the South Terminal in bitter eminent domain battle at ABIA (KUT)
Six years after hiring a company to run the South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the Austin City Council voted Thursday to pull the plug on the 40-year deal using the power of eminent domain.
ABIA officials want to raze the terminal and build a new concourse to accommodate the rapidly growing number of passengers traveling through the airport.
The City Council's move frustrated Lonestar Airport Holdings, the company running the three-gate facility where ultra-low-cost airlines Allegiant and Frontier operate. Lonestar argues the city's $2 million offer for its lease rights is "objectively offensive" and insists the city's plans will eliminate discount air service at ABIA.
"Closure of the South Terminal will kill ultra-low-cost carrier service from Austin, challenged by higher operating fees and inadequate capacity at the main terminal," Lonestar Airport Holdings CEO Jeff Pearse said in a statement. "Options for price sensitive travelers will disappear in our market."
City officials insist Austin wouldn't lose Allegiant or Frontier, saying the discount airlines would be transferred to the 34-gate Barbara Jordan Terminal, which charges airlines higher fees to operate… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin City Council approves $3.9 million contract for homeless (KXAN)
A northwest Austin hotel will soon be used as permanent housing for the homeless.
The Pecan Gardens hotel conversion project is expected to provide 78 permanent housing units and supportive services for individuals with disabilities over the age of 55.
On Thursday, Austin City Council voted to negotiate a $3.9 million contract with Family Eldercare to fund renovations at the former Candlewood Suites hotel.
Family Eldercare Director of Financial and Housing Stability Shontell Gauthier was thrilled to finally get the green light from the City of Austin.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to provide permanent housing and community for 78 older adults transitioning out of homelessness,” she said.
This one-year contract will fund a full redesign of the property.
It’ll convert hotel rooms into handicap-accessible apartments along with adding outdoor landscaping.
“The $3.9 million budget will allow us to rehab the units, making them more accessible for older adults,” Gauthier said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin housing market showing signs of calming down, according to new report (KVUE)
New data released by the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) indicates that the real estate market is calming down.
According to ABoR's May market report, housing inventory in the Austin-Round Rock MSA is improving. Active listings skyrocketed 146% compared to last May. That's a total of 4,173 listings.
The rise in listings has caused the housing inventory to more than double to 1.2 months of inventory, up from 0.7 months last May.
ABoR reported that last month residential home sales declined 6.7% year over year as the median price rose 19.6%, maintaining the all-time record of $550,000 set in April 2022. Sales dollar volume grew 9% while new listings also increased by 18.8%. Homes also spent an average of 15 days on the market, a day less than in May 2021… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Here's who is building $17B Samsung plant in Central Texas (Austin Business Journal)
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has tapped a general contractor for its $17 billion next-generation chipmaking plant in Taylor, northeast of Austin.
Mississippi-based W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., also known as Yates Construction, recently announced that it's working on the 1,200-acre project near the former intersection of County Roads 401 and 404. The facility is expected to be 6 million square feet when completed.
The company is part of The Yates Companies Inc., and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yates Construction has worked on massive industrial projects before, including manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico for Volvo Group, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., according to its online portfolio.
"Yates Construction is excited to be selected by Samsung to build their FAB 1 microchip fabrication facility in Texas," Yates Construction President and CEO William G. Yates III said in a statement. "As one of the largest advanced technology manufacturing contractors in the U.S., Yates Construction brings extensive experience across many similar projects. We look forward to a successful partnership and seeing the tremendous impact this project will have on the region and the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Houston named one of host cities for 2026 World Cup (Houston Chronicle)
The World Cup is coming to Houston. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, chose Houston as one of 16 sites for the 2026 Men’s World Cup, the first edition of the tournament to be co-hosted by three nations: the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sixty games will be played in the U.S., including all from the quarterfinals on. Canada and Mexico are to host 10 games each. Houston did not stage matches the last time the U.S. held the World Cup in 1994 — Dallas was the closest venue — but the Bayou City is now getting its shot. Thursday’s announcement was the culmination of a three-year campaign by members of the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee, a subsidiary of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority (HCHSA). Janis Burke, the sports authority’s CEO, said this opportunity has actually been in the works for much longer.
“We've worked not just for years on the bid like every other city, but we really started working on this a decade ago, because Houston was not at the table the last time that World Cup was in the United States, and Dallas was,” Burke said. “We've proven ourselves over and over with all the international friendlies and the COPA America and every soccer event we could get our hands on, we did. And that was purposeful. It was a tactic that worked for us and we just wanted to prove to the world that they should not skip Houston, that Houston is a great soccer town.” World Cup games in Houston — likely five or six — will be played in 72,000-capacity NRG Stadium. Chris Canetti, the local bid committee CEO, said he is hopeful Houston hosts some knockout round matches as well as group stage matches. NRG Stadium is not a candidate for the semifinals or finals because FIFA requires a minimum of 80,000 seats for those games. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and AT&T Stadium in Arlington are believed to be the top contenders to stage the final. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., which hosted the 1994 World Cup final, was left out, as was a combined bid representing Baltimore and Washington, D.C., meaning the United States capital will not play a role in its biggest sporting event in 2026… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
DFW to host FIFA World Cup matches at AT&T Stadium in 2026 (Dallas Morning News)
The 2026 World Cup is coming back to North Texas. The Dallas-Fort Worth area was named one of 16 host sites for the quadrennial tournament, with matches slated four summers from now in the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington. But now the area must still play the waiting game: we won’t know how many matches, or which marquee tilts will be here (like the semifinals or final) until a later date. The United States is joined by Canada and Mexico in hosting the tournament. The U.S. hosted the international event in 1994, and six matches were played at the Cotton Bowl. Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986. The U.S. hosted the women’s tournament in 1999 and 2003. “We would love to have the U.S. for at least one game. That is a big prize,” said FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt, who was also the Dallas 2026 host city bid chairman. “We would love to have Mexico here too. That fan base is so strong and so passionate. I don’t know if we would get both.”
Houston’s NRG Stadium was also selected to host matches, as were nine other U.S. metro areas: Atlanta, Boston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey/New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey will host matches in Mexico. Canada’s two host cities are Vancouver and Toronto. “With the World Cup coming in 2026, we are entering the most exciting time in the soccer history of this country,” Hunt said. “We want to bring a women’s World Cup to the United States and to Dallas in either 2027 or 2031.” The 1994 World Cup provided an economic boom to the country and region, and also helped kick-start more mainstream interest in professional soccer stateside. The MLS launched two years later, and Dallas Burn was one of the founding clubs. Now known as FC Dallas and headquartered at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, the MLS squad and surrounding area is also poised to benefit from World Cup matches in the region. Matches won’t be played in Frisco or the Cotton Bowl, but both are integral parts of the region’s bid this time around… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 159: Talking Austin Real Estate Development and Entrepreneurship w/ Ari Rastegar
Today’s episode (159) features Ari Rastegar, Founder and CEO of Austin-based Rastegar Property Company. He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss real estate development in Austin, as well as Ari's entrepreneurial path.
Rastegar Property has a portfolio spanning more 13 states and over 3.5 million square feet. It recently announced its 809 Skyline office development project in Austin, as well as a 318-acre planned community in Kyle, TX. -> EPISODE LINK
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!