INNOVATION TOWER The flagship building is designed to be a mixed-use space for research, project design, conferences 4
WATERLOO PARK
DELL SETON MEDICAL CENTER
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When all three of the park's phases are complete, there will be about 35 acres of restored green space in the city.
The facility is a teaching hospital for Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
and other life science work.
KATY MCAFEE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESTY WATERLOO GREENWAY
COURTESY DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE
The were taken to the Travis County Commissioners Court in July, which voted to conduct a performance audit on Central Health in 2023 in an effort to better understand Central Health’s financials as it continues to expand in the Innovation District and throughout the Austin metro. Looking ahead allegations Future plans for the Innovation District include Central Health finalizing plans to develop the former Brackenridge site. When Waterloo Greenway is finished with all three phases, the park will expand from the Innovation Dis- trict to Lady Bird Lake and
Innovation District—said another example of how the Innovation District has contributed to the city is the mRNA research for the COVID-19 vaccine that came out of the Dell Medical School at UT in 2020. “[People] underestimate the amount of research that comes out of UT Austin and becomes commercialized and helps everyday people,” McDonald said. Growth setbacks In 2019, a DAA analysis showed the district would bring in 2,800 permanent jobs—including some for individuals without a col- lege degree—and increase land value by 53%.
the past two decades, Harp- er-Madison said. She said the project, like other developments in the Innovation District, is revital- izing an area that was once a community of Black and other minority residents who were later displaced through “urban renewal,” leaving the area largely barren. “With the new teaching hospital and the reincarna- tion of the Waterloo Park, we’ve been slowly revitalizing the area for a few years now, but this project promises to put that work into overdrive,” Harper-Madison said.
“And then the pandemic just squashed all that momentum,” Van Hyfte said. The DAA has not run another economic anal- ysis, but it has seen the strain while trying to fill the Innovation Tower—an office building built with the intention of bringing science and technology companies together to spur innovation. Central Health—the coun- ty’s health care district serving low-income individu- als—has been criticized for its role in the district by groups. Groups such as Austin Tax- payers Union, the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens have alleged Central Health has lacked financial transparency.
Rainey Street. “Ultimately, folks will be able to walk from The Butler Trail or the Mexican American Cultural Center all the way up through our park system and connect to UT at the end of the trail; all on safe accessible trails that are off the street network,” Ridgon said. On Sept. 29, Austin City Council moved into final negotiations with developer Aspen Heights Partners for two 37-story residential tow- ers within the district at 1215 Red River St. and 606 E. 12th St., Austin. Over 25% of the total housing space—around 900 units—will be income-re- stricted, which will double the number of affordable houses built downtown in
For more information, visit communityimpact.com.
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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