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Rendering of the South Central Waterfront project. (305 South Congress)
The south shore of Lady Bird Lake is closer to seeing a skyline with residential, commercial and hotel space.
Known as the Statesman planned unit development, the proposal for the South Central Waterfront includes more than 1,300 apartments or condominium units, a 275 room hotel and 1.65 million square feet of office and retail space.
The project plans involve demolishing the Austin American-Statesman’s property at 305 S. Congress Ave. and are inching near finalization after years of consideration.
The Austin Planning Commission unanimously approved a proposal for the 19-acre site Wednesday. The next steps involve having the plan reviewed by city staff again and it will likely appear before Austin City Council in the coming months.
The redevelopment is coming from Endeavor Real Estate Group. It has boasted enhancing connections to and along the waterfront and establishing a lively pedestrian environment. It’ll include dedicated space for a Project Connect Blue Line rail station.
(305 South Congress)
For additional entitlements like additional stories of height, there have been talks of public benefits like parkland, a new bat observation area and an extension of Barton Springs Road. Affordable housing is another benefit that’s been discussed and the group has said 4% of all on-site residential units will be affordable or have a large fee-in-lieu component for ownership units.
It’s unclear how long the project will take, but the group has anticipated constructing it in three phases over a 12-15 year period.
“As the city continues to evolve, 305 South Congress will complement Austin’s waterfront and the vision for the South Central Waterfront District,” the group has said.
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(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said. It is now being investigated as a suspicious death. No further information on the suspect or motive behind the killing are available at this time.
Wilson recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.