City officials in Austin are considering a new incentive for builders willing to include public spaces in new projects.
Builders would be allowed to increase the heights of their projects if they include public amenities and spaces as part of their proposals.
"On Dec. 17, the Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on proposals for a voluntary program under which downtown developers would be rewarded with extra space or height for their projects if they provide certain community benefits, such as affordable housing, child care services or cultural spaces.
City leaders have several goals: encouraging density and growing the tax base while ensuring that downtown remains a desirable place to live and work.
The proposals, called density bonuses, already have set off alarms among local developers who say they would raise costs and penalize them for the high-density projects that Austin leaders say they want downtown."
FULL STORY: Voluntary program would reward projects providing community benefits with extra space or height.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research