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North Central Austin Edition VOLUME 18, ISSUE 12 APRIL 4 MAY 4, 2026
City spending under review Audit approval marks latest step in city policy shifts
"It arises out of a determination for us to safeguard public con dence, to assure operational e ciency with continuous improvement and to deliver the best value for the services that we, as a city, provide."
BY BEN THOMPSON
Citywide audits, social spending cuts and reformed spending policies are just some of the changes Austin City Council is making in the wake of the failure of Proposition Q, a multimillion-dollar tax rate election in 2025. Several o cials have pointed to the tax election’s rejection by a nearly 2-to-1 margin as a referendum on City Hall’s spending, transparency and overall scal discipline. As such, Austin o cials authorized continual third-party audits of citywide operations and services in February, a process partly prompted by Proposition Q’s failure. Mayor Kirk Watson, who’s promoted a civic performance review since November’s election, acknowledged that o cials need to regain voters’ trust and said council’s vote for the concept Feb. 26 will make Austin better.
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Also in this issue
Government
Page 9
Read about air taxi testing in Austin
Nonpro t
Page 17
Mayor Kirk Watson attended a City Council workshop March 24. (Matthew Brooks/Community Impact)
Check out a revamped paleontology exhibit
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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About Community Impact
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Impacts
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4 Hanami AYCE Sushi The family-owned Japanese restaurant provides an all-you-can-eat dining experiencing, featuring more than 40 signature sushi rolls and fresh-cut sashimi. Handcrafted cocktails as well as hot and cold sakes are available. • Opened Feb. 11 • 7020 Easy Wind Drive, Ste. 100, Austin • www.hanamiatx.com
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North Central Austin
183 2 ThoroughFare A new concept from bakery ThoroughBread is now open in Mueller. The spot is a bakery, cafe deli and grocery all in one. Patrons can grab coffee, pastries and more. • Opened March 17 • 1905 Aldrich St., Ste. 100, Austin
• Opened March 31 • 2502 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin • www.austinoysterco.com
MOPAC
Now open
5 Olga Roberts Studio - Body Intelligence Pilates Instructor Olga Roberts is now offering a variety of classes and services including classical Pilates, classical ballet, kinesiology and dance medicine. • Opened Jan. 12 • 401 W. 3rd St., Austin • www.olgarobertsstudio.com 6 Kinsho Nick Ford and Wade McElroy of Rocco’s opened sushi bar Kinsho off Rainey Street, the first-ever dedicated sushi
71 1 Aperí at Paggi House The Loren Hotel Austin will open a new bar serving wine and small bites at the historic Paggi House art gallery and event space. The new concept will offer a pre-dinner aperitivo hour where patrons can choose from more than 40 bottles of wine and build their own charcuterie boards featuring Italian meats and cheeses. • Opened March 19 • 200 Lee Barton Drive, Austin • www.thelorenhotels.com/austin
35 • www.thoroughfare.com 3 Austin Oyster Co.
MOPAC
Brenden Yancy and Drew Ahumada have launched a brick and mortar for Austin Oyster Co., a business that launched in 2020 as a delivery and catering service. The restaurant, led by Chef de Cuisine Clark Costello, features a raw bar with a rotating selection of raw oysters, as well as menu items including lobster rolls and non-seafood dishes as well.
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Coming soon
Expansions
In the news
7 Texas French Bread The Austin bakery is opening a new storefront at its original location, which closed following a fire in 2022. The bakery serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches as well as assortments of fresh bread, sweets and pastries. • Opening in April
9 H-E-B Hancock Center The Hancock Center grocery store in North Central Austin has been renovated and expanded to include more offerings for customers. The 125,000-square foot store now includes a 31,000-square feet addition, featuring a True Texas BBQ restaurant, larger Meal Simple section with more grab-and-go offerings, and expanded Sushiya sushi station. • Reopened Feb. 20 • 1000 E. 41st St., Austin • www.heb.com
12 Mandola’s Italian Kitchen The locally owned restaurant from Damian and Trina Mandola first opened 20 years ago, in North Austin’s The Triangle in 2006. Since then, it has expanded to three additional Austin-area locations and can be found in Florida. • 4700 W. Guadalupe St., Ste. 12, Austin • www.mandolas.com
• 2900 Rio Grande Blvd., Austin • www.texasfrenchbread.com
restaurant on the street. Kinsho offers an a la carte menu, as well as an omakase option. • Opened in March • 51 Rainey St., Ste. 140A, Austin • Instagram: kinshoaustin 8 Laura Rathe Fine Art Gallery The contemporary art gallery, with locations in Houston and Dallas, is now opening in downtown Austin. The gallery is owned by Laura Rathe, while Nicole Donaldson serves as director and Dawn Ohmer as associate director. • Opening March 28
completed upgrades to the fitness equipment and space in the gym.
Relocations
• 979 Springdale Road, Austin • www.boulderingproject.com
10 Ruiz Salon The local hair salon is relocating from its Lamar Boulevard and Fifth Street location to the Hyde Park area. • Relocating this spring • 4301 Guadalupe St., Austin • www.ruizsalon.com
Closings
13 Hoover’s Cooking The soul food restaurant is closing its doors after almost 30 years in business as owner Hoover Alexander retires. • Closing May 31 • 2002 Manor Road, Austin
In the news
• 907 W. Fifth St., Austin • www.laurarathe.com
11 Austin Bouldering Project The climbing gym’s Springdale location recently
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Government
BY BEN THOMPSON
Austin launches redesigned city website Austin’s redesigned website went live on March 19, part of a multimillion-dollar project to modern- ize and streamline the city’s digital experience. The big picture Austintexas.gov is now search-based, a layout the city called more intuitive for visitors by providing quicker navigation to the webpages or information they’re seeking. The redesign was billed as one of several signif- icant improvements to Austin’s digital platform, including cleaner webpages and functionality across di erent devices. City o cials said the redesign was needed to improve organization and accessibility. The approach The redesign is the result of a multiyear contract with Austin-based consultant Material Holdings, worth up to $5.5 million.
Penalties increased for noisy vehicles A new ordinance was approved to combat excessively loud vehicles that have reportedly become a growing nuisance on Austin streets. What happened Drivers whose cars or motorcycles are unreasonably loud can now be cited after an initial warning is issued. Violations are Class C misdemeanors. Residents, law enforcement and city o cials said the policy came together after extensive reports of disruptive noise and racing activity around neighborhoods. “This is a constant daily threat to our peace and safety, and a noise ordinance is written as a balanced, reasonable measure that empow- ers our o cers to protect our community from clearly irresponsible conduct,” resident Lisa Capps told council.
City sta replaced the previous version of the website.
The updated austintexas.gov launched in March.
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Government
BY BEN THOMPSON
Air taxi testing heading to Austin Test ights for electric aviation services like air taxis will soon be taking o across the state, including in Austin, following the Texas Department of Transportation’s selection for a Federal Aviation Administration pilot program this month. The big picture Under an executive order issued last year by President Donald Trump, the FAA is moving to advance aviation systems including unmanned drones and electric vertical takeo and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft. Expanded eVTOL operations could include local air taxi service, regional passenger and cargo trans- portation, emergency medical response, and more. The project Under the FAA pilot, TxDOT is coordinating with
Archer’s Midnight electric air taxi will be part of the TxDOT pilot program.
Wisk Aero’s aircraft and autonomous systems will be used in the TxDOT pilot program.
COURTESY WISK AERO
COURTESY ARCHER
four aviation companies: Archer, BETA Technolo- gies, Joby Aviation and Wisk Aero. The partnership will see eVTOL air taxi ights and other services launch between Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston—known as the Texas Triangle—as well as rural communities around that area. The transportation department didn’t identify speci c communities outside the major cities. Only existing infrastructure will be used initially, according to TxDOT spokesperson Adam Hammons, and the project will also consider future needs for the new aviation technology.
A closer look TxDOT’s program will have a footprint in Austin, but city o cials had separately applied to the FAA pilot initiative last year after general planning for local eVTOL service began. The city’s own eVTOL pilot proposal development was spearheaded by Austin-based LIFT Aircraft and wasn’t among the federal agency’s nal selections. During a brie ng to City Council last fall, Assistant City Manager Mike Rogers noted Austin will need to plan for the local impact of eVTOL operations, including zoning, infrastructure, and regulatory coordination with state and federal governments.
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Environment
BY BROOKE SJOBERG
LCRA reservoir could add 13 billion gallons to Central Texas water supply
What they’re saying
Adding a reservoir in this area could help all water customers in the lower Colorado River basin, according to the release, because this part of the state receives more annual rainfall than the Highland Lakes northwest of Austin. “Building a new reservoir takes years, so it’s important to start developing new supplies before the demand arrives,” LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson said in the release. “Meeting future needs requires a combination of adding new supplies and using the supplies we already have thoughtfully.” Should studies nd the site to be suitable for a reservoir, it would be the second in the lower Colorado River basin, after Arbuckle.
The Lower Colorado River Authority is conducting studies to determine if a site northwest of Eagle Lake in Colorado County would be suitable for a new, larger water reservoir. LCRA already owns the 2,000-acre site, which could add over 13 billion gallons to the Central Texas water supply amid growing water needs. The river authority, which supplies water and hydroelectric power to many communities throughout Central Texas, is exploring plans to build a new reservoir that could hold up to 90,000 acre-feet of water. That would make it larger than the recently opened Arbuckle Reservoir, or two to three times the capacity of Lake Austin.
Potential LCRA reservoir
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A new reservoir o the river authority’s main channel was established in its Water Supply Resource Report, an overview of strategies to address regional water needs, that was approved last year, according to a Feb. 19 news release.
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Education
BY CHLOE YOUNG
Nonpro t to take over 3 Austin ISD schools Texas Council for International Studies may begin operating Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools next school year. The Austin ISD board of trustees is expected to vote on a three-year contract with TCIS at a March 26 meeting, after press time. The educa- tional nonpro t specializes in the International Baccalaureate program and works with Region 1 Education Service Center. The background The nonpro t partnership comes after Burnet, Dobie and Webb each received their fourth consecutive F rating in 2025 from the Texas Edu- cation Agency. If a campus receives ve or more consecutive failed ratings, the TEA may close the campus or takeover the district. This school year, the district restarted the three middle schools by hiring new principals and teachers.
Austin ISD looks to cut costs by $39M Austin ISD is aiming to reduce its expenses over time and increase its savings. What’s happening The district is planning to make $39 million in cuts this scal year to lower a pro- jected $136 million shortfall to $49 million, among other cost-saving measures like a hiring freeze, adjustments to discretionary spending and identifying additional revenue opportunities. The backstory The projected shortfall has increased from $111 million to $136 million after a $26 million land sale failed to go through this scal year, Chief Financial O cer Katrina Montgomery said.
Dobie Middle School and College Prep Academy
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Transportation
Events
BY CHLOE YOUNG
BY ELLE BENT
• April 12, 8 a.m. • $70-$75 (participate) • Congress Avenue bridge (start) • www.cap10k.com
A pril
Ongoing projects
Completed projects
Moontower Comedy Festival Enjoy two weeks of comedy shows. • April 7-18 • $85 (daily wristband); $175+ (badge) • 713 Congress Ave., Austin; Various venues • www.austintheatre.org ABC Kite Fest The annual kite festival features hundreds of kites. • April 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. • Free (admission) • Zilker Park, 2100 Barton Springs Road, Austin • www.abckitefest.org STAPLE! Independent Media Expo The two-day festival will showcase comics, zines, artwork and tabletop games. • April 11-12 • $15+ (tickets) • St. Edward’s University, 3001 S. Congress Ave., Austin • www.staple-austin.org The 49th Annual Statesman Capitol 10,000 Runners will gather to race over 6.2 miles.
Austin Reggae Festival The festival is a fundraiser for the Capital Area Food Bank and features three days of reggae, world and dub music. • April 17-19 • $50-$650 (tickets) • Auditorium Shores, 900 W. Riverside Drive, Austin • www.reggaeriseup.com/texas Pop-Up Picnic This 13th annual fundraising event features live music and picnic baskets from Austin restaurants. • April 18, 6-10 p.m. • $25 (admission); $100-$350 (picnic baskets) • 1401 Trinity St., Austin • www.waterloogreenway.com/picnic Austin Dragon Boat Festival The 26th annual festival is a race on Lady Bird Lake. • April 25, 10 a.m. • Free (admission), $800+ (to compete) • Festival Beach, 1621 Nash Hernandez Senior Road, Austin • www.atxdragonboat.com
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Austin Blues Festival The Austin Blues Festival will return to Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park this spring, presented by Antone’s Nightclub and Waterloo Greenway Conservancy. The two-day festival celebrates music and culture and started in 1999. This year is the festival’s fourth edition and will celebrate Antone’s 50-year lease extension. • April 25-26 • $79+ (varies on ticket type) • 1401 Trinity St., Austin • www.austinbluesfestival.com
1 Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative Project: The project will redesign Congress Avenue to expand sidewalks, add pedestrian amenity zones, upgrade bikeway barriers and add turn lanes for vehicle traffic. Update: Construction began Jan. 30. • Timeline: Phase 1: 2026–summer 2027; full project: 2026–2030 • Cost: full project: $29 million • Funding source: 2020 Mobility Bond
2 Wishbone Bridge Project: The new pedestrian and bicycle bridge runs over Lady Bird Lake, connecting the Ann and Roy Butler Trail at Mt. Holly Peninsula, Canterbury Park and Longhorn Shores. The new underpass links Longhorn Shores to Krieg Fields and the Roy G. Guerrero Trail. Update: The bridge and underpass opened Feb. 7 • Timeline: July 2024-Feb. 2026 • Cost: $25.9 million • Funding source: 2020 Mobility Bond
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ARBORETUM 10515 N Mopac Expy
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Austin spending under review From the cover
Social services
How it works
Fuentes said. The city is also looking to cut down its informa- tion technology department to reduce expenses by eliminating duplicated systems and centralizing operations. But the public employees’ union AFSCME Local 1624 opposed this and asked Austin to nd other ways to roll out improvements. A new city audit in March also revealed issues with Austin’s frequent use of third-party contrac- tors, including unclear justi cations and reporting on work that recently cost nearly $300 million and increased by about 25% in less than three years. “The city may not be able to show why consultant services were needed or how they were used,” Audit Manager Keith Salas said. Contracting with consultants is common in Austin, with Salas noting that “virtually all” city departments are spending on third-party support.
Last year, City Council originally passed a $6.34 billion scal year 2025-26 budget with signi cant investments in social services. However, most of the funding anticipated by council was stripped away in a budget rewrite after voters rejected the Proposition Q tax measure, which would have generated about $100 million for the FY 2025-26 budget. After the election, City Manager T.C. Broadnax outlined how those millions of dollars would be removed. Further cuts are on the horizon as Austin works toward what several o cials have called a social services “reset.” The exact cuts are in the process of being determined but are expected to total about $16.8 million in FY 2026-27. “That was heartbreaking for me personally, to know that subsequent to [the] failure of Prop Q that we essentially balanced our budget on the backs of our social safety net,” council member Vanessa Top spending The city expects to cut almost $17 million from social spending in FY 2026-27. Of the $74 million currently budgeted for social services, the top spending categories include: $34.9M Homelessness strategy and operations Crisis response (court diversion, case management) $10.5M $9.2M Children and youth (early childhood, youth development programs)
As part of the audit process, the city auditor’s o ce is tasked with starting an ongoing “comprehensive e ciency assessment” program. City Auditor Jason Hadavi will oversee the initiative, to be handled independently by an external consultant. The audit will analyze Austin’s overall city government organization, public programs and services, third-party contracting practices, and nancial comparisons to peer cities. Public progress reports will be made at least semiannually, and all project information will be posted online. Given the broad scope of a citywide assessment, Hadavi said a multiyear process would likely yield the best results. The audit doesn’t have a set price tag.
Auditing process The city’s program will be handled internally by the city auditor’s o ce with support from an outside consultant to conduct:
Spending comparison Austin’s general fund pays for more social services than other cities, which tend to rely more on grants or taxes.
An overall analysis of Austin’s organization, programs, services, policies and operations
Social spending from general fund Grants/tax
Totals $0 $20M $40M $60M $80M $100M
$83.9M $30.5M $63.4M $52M
A review of city contracting practices
Cost savings and performance improvement recommendations
85%
Comparisons to peer cities on e ciency and nancial benchmarks
Dallas 52%
Houston 5%
San Antonio 66%
Austin
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
BY BEN THOMPSON
Bonds
Next steps
A contractor for the auditing process could be approved after this summer’s budgeting process and before the current 2025-26 scal year ends in September. Initial program costs were not available as of press time. Spending review timeline 2025 • November: Proposition Q fails 2026 • February: citywide audit process approved • Spring: planned employee transitions for IT department begin • Summer-early fall: audit contractor approved; auditing continues inde initely • October: consulting guidelines updated • November: potential $700 million bond and Save Austin Now charter amendment may appear on ballot
City leaders are also weighing whether to put a bond package before voters this November. A $700 million bond package to fund mobility, watershed protection, parks and public facility projects was recommended by city sta in January. The outline may not represent Austin’s nal 2026 bond—if an election is called this year—as a public task force will also weigh in with its own project proposals this spring. Austin hasn’t called a compre- hensive bond election since 2018, although stand- alone packages were approved for transportation in 2020 and a ordable housing in 2022. The $3.87 billion project wish list released last year included 66 programs or projects from more than a dozen public-facing city departments. The scaled-down $700 million list has just over two dozen initiatives. Debt like public improvement bonds is paid for through a portion of city property taxes. The owner of a median-valued home in Austin will pay about $450 in debt service taxes this year.
2026 recommended bond projects
An initial list of projects to be funded by Austin’s 2026 bond was proposed within a $700 million cap recommended by city sta .
2026 initial recommendation
Transportation: $251M
Parks and Recreation: $140M Watershed protection: $160M
Police: $62M
Community facilities*: $58M Fire/EMS: $29M
*ANIMAL SERVICES CAMPUS IMPROVEMENTS, LIBRARY RENOVATION, FLEET PROPERTY ACQUISITION, NEW HOMELESS SHELTER
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Nonpro t
BY DACIA GARCIA
Local museum uncovers revamped exhibit The Texas Science and Natural History Museum opened its latest paleontology exhibit on Jan. 28. Attendees can immerse themselves in how crea- tures lived through a video game, interactive panels and learning where the featured fossils were found
across Texas. The present
Touchscreen panels give visitors a closer look at creatures in their habitat.
Liam Norris, exhibition and outreach associate and paleontologist, said the greatest upgrade is the amount of information visitors can now intake from the exhibit. Approximately 77% of the specimens in the exhibit are from Texas—some were discovered by UT Austin alumni. What else? The space also features the hands-on exhibit, Discovery Center, which opened in March 2025.
PHOTOS COURTESY TEXAS SCIENCE & NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
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2400 Trinity St., Austin https://sciencemuseum.utexas.edu
Guests can now learn more information about almost all the showcased fossils throughout the exhibit.
START A CONVERSATION WITH US TODAY 512.601.8692 | GRANDLIVING.COM LUMINATIONS ® Memory Care
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF Texas Under One Roof 25th Anniversary Weekend April 25–26 | Austin, TX
Compassionate & Crafted Care
Purposeful Living Activities
Safe, Home-Like Environment
The Bullock Museum, a division of the Texas State Preservation Board, is funded by Museum members, donors, and patrons, the Texas State History Museum Foundation and the State of Texas. 25th Anniversary
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY # 312581
17
NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
MASTER-25th Anniv Print Ads.indd 4
2/2/26 11:12 AM
Real estate
Less Central Austin homes sold in February 2026 compared to February 2025, according to Unlock MLS data. Residential market data
Homes sold
February 2025
February 2026
+30%
-45.83%
-37.5%
-3.23%
-0.5%
0%
78701
78702
78703
78704
78705
78722
78705 78751 78752 78756
+3.33%
+46.15%
+77.78%
-16.67%
+100%
+8.33%
78757
78731
290
360
78723
78703
78701
78722
78702
78704
290
183
35
71
MOPAC
78723
78731
78751
78752
78756
78757
N
Median home sales price
Central Austin
February
2025
2026
February
2025
2026
$595,000 $762,500 $1,372,500 $948,000 $395,500 $453,500 $579,690 $718,750 $749,000 $317,500 $605,000 $679,900
$645,000 $665,000 $1,676,000 $900,000 $315,000 $503,000 $575,000 $1,020,000 $625,000 $368,000 $565,000 $740,000
78701 78702 78703 78704 78705 78722 78723 78731 78751 78752 78756 78757
476 454
New listings
174 158
Closed sales
Homes under contract
208 231
MARKET DATA PROVIDED BY AUSTIN BOARD OF REALTORS AND UNLOCK MLS 512 454 7636 WWW.ABOR.COM
®️
April 8, 2026 | 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd Career Expo Keep Austin Hired! Free and open to the public. For more information visit: AustinTexas.gov/CareerExpo
+ +
$0 tuition at Austin Community College (ACC). High school graduates from the class of 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 & 2028 in ACC’s service area may qualify.
+
No income restrictions. No GPA requirements.
Santana G. & Apollo F.
LEARN MORE & APPLY FOR FREE AT austincc.edu/freetuition
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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2525 West Anderson Lane, Austin, TX 78757 Your hometown rink for over 25 years!
Austin - Mueller 1201 Barbara Jordan Blvd., Ste. 680 | (512) 616-9583
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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3300 W. Anderson Ln. Austin, TX 78757 • (512) 420-2222 Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner daily. Closed Sundays and Mondays. @EldoradoCafeATX 3300 W. Anderson Ln. Austin, TX 78757 • (512) 420-2222 Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner daily. Closed Sundays and Mondays. @EldoradoCafeATX Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner daily. Closed Sundays and Mondays. @EldoradoCafeATX
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Crux south Presale Memberships
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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