Changing our culture of growth to more sensible solutions like densifying nodes can help us reduce our water and energy needs and our carbon footprint.

Austin's notorious development review backlog could be eliminated under a new short-term plan outlined May 1 by city staff in response to a City Council request.

The multi-department effort aims to improve wait times for the site plan, subdivision, commercial and residential plan review processes related to land development and construction, according to a plan outlined in a May 1 city memo from the recently separated Development Services and Planning and Zoning departments.

It’s evident by now that the recovery has taken hold in all markets across the country. Still, there are some areas that are faring better than others, particularly when it comes to employment and business growth. Utilizing an array of metrics—ranging from CRE industry reports and government data to research from such think tanks as the Brookings Institution and the Milken Institute—the editors of Real Estate Forum put together a list of the top 10 geographic markets that have the best prospects for growth over the next few years.

Austin landlords have been in sticker shock for the last week, watching as tax valuations skyrocket, according to experts at Bisnow’s Austin State of the Market event yesterday.

As the only member of the Texas House Transportation Committee hailing from Austin, freshman Democratic Rep. Celia Israel has vowed to bring the region’s gridlock woes to the Capitol. She recently told the Austin Monitor about a few of the bills she filed this session with the goal of providing mobility improvement tools to Central Texans.

Work will soon start on a new Foundation Communities low-income residential building in South Austin. Bluebonnet Studios, which will take shape at 2301 S. Lamar Boulevard, will be similar to Capitol Studios, which was completed at the end of 2014.

Austin’s construction boom is not just contained within the CBD. The University of Texas has been experiencing its own construction boom lately, and BuildingATX brings you this update on some of the projects underway on and around campus as of April 2015:

The Austin American-Statesman’s decision to close its downtown printing facility and shed about 100 jobs opens the possibility that the newspaper could part with a prime piece of downtown Austin real estate.

Three of Texas’ major metropolitan areas are embracing energy efficiency to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by meeting EPA’s Energy Star requirements. Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston jointly have over 500 buildings with Energy Star certifications—saving a combined $145 million.

As Blackstone’s top executives fan out across the globe, pitching their services at elite gatherings of investors, they invariably tell the crowd: Hope you guys like this hotel, because we own it.

When it comes to real estate, Blackstone owns a lot more as well. The private equity firm, while better known for its huge buyouts in the deal boom before the financial crisis, is the largest private sector landlord in the United States. And that was the case even before General Electric announced on Friday that it would sell a $14 billion chunk of its real estate assets to Blackstone’s fast-growing property division as part of the conglomerate’s retreat from finance.

Commercial and industrial real estate activity has been seeing a recent uptick. With a shift from a tenant/buyer market to a landlord/seller market, it’s time for buyers to do their homework and bid aggressively before an attractive opportunity is lost.

Only five years ago an LED lightbulb cost upwards of $50, making the cost of switching from CFL fixtures steep.

When: Wednesday, May 13
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Where: San Jacinto Center Lobby
98 San Jacinto Blvd.

When: Monday, May 18
11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Where: The Hyatt Regency
208 Barton Springs

When: Wednesday, June 10
11:15 AM - 1:00 PM

Where: The Four Seasons Hotel
98 San Jacinto Blvd.

When: Thursday, June 11
From 2 PM to 3 PM

Where: Online Webinar


If you regularly work on Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) then you need to watch this webinar. You’ll learn everything you need to know about TIA requirements for new development projects as well as how and when to effectively incorporate a traffic engineer into your project team. You’ll also learn about the differences between a TIA, Traffic Study and Parking Study.