Local news and fun, every day 6am.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed

A proposal would give Tesla up to a $68 million tax break to locate its next factory in Austin.
Del Valle ISD is considering an economic incentives deal with Tesla that could save the electric carmaker nearly $70 million on property taxes for a proposed assembly plant.
Tesla's application to the school district—which was made public by the Texas Comptroller's office today—proposes building a 4 million- to 5 million-square-foot facility in Southeast Travis County that would ultimately create 5,000 jobs with an average annual salary of around $47,000.
The factory would be located at the intersection of SH 130 and Harold Green Road.
In a statement sent to Austonia, Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president of economic development for the Austin Chamber, said: "The potential location being explored is an underutilized site that is in clear need of revitalization, and it would be a perfect for for an environmentally focused organization like Tesla."
If approved, construction on the "Gigafactory" would begin this fall and operations would start up in late 2021.
Tesla applied for an incentives deal under the state tax code chapter 313, which allows school districts to offer a 10-year cap on taxable property value to companies to promote new development and job creation.
Tesla requested an appraised value cap of $80 million for the proposed project.
In its application, the company estimates that, without the cap, the taxable value of the property would be at least five times greater—ranging from $432 million in 2022 to $773 million in 2025.
At a property tax rate of 1.31%, per the application, Tesla would pay $78,591,442 in property taxes to the school district over 10 years for the actual value of the site. However, with the cap of $80 million in place, the company would pay $10,480,000 over the same time period—for a total estimated savings of $68,111,442.
"Tesla is looking forward to establishing a strong working relationship with Del Valle ISD and the greater Austin community," Mark Olson—the company's senior director of U.S. Tax—wrote in a May 26 letter to Del Valle ISD Superintendent Dr. Annette Tielle.
The Travis County Commissioners Court is also considering a separate incentives deal, but the terms have not yet been made public. Its members will receive presentations from county staff and Tesla representatives on the proposed agreement next week.
"The Court encourages the public to provide input on Tuesday when it takes up the item," Travis County Public Information Officer Hector Nieto said in an emailed statement. "It is the Court's intention to not take any action on the item."
Earlier this week, union representatives urged commissioners to reconsider such a deal given Tesla's "track record of collecting public subsidies from several states but not delivering on their promises."
The proposal names SH 130 and Harold Green Road as the potential location of the plant.
This story has been updated to correct the average salary of the proposed new jobs.
- Travis County considers bringing Tesla to Austin area - austonia ›
- Elon Musk threatens to move Tesla operations to Texas and Nevada ... ›
- Reports: Tesla's next factory may be in Austin - austonia ›
- Tesla considering buying Austin site for new factory - austonia ›
- Travis County commissioners to consider $14.7 million economic incentives deal with Tesla - austonia ›
- Tesla seeks fast-track approval of $1.1 billion plant in Austin - austonia ›
- Tesla seeks fast-track approval of $1.1 billion plant in Austin - austonia ›
- Elon Musk seeks to fast-track $1.1 billion Tesla factory in Austin - austonia ›
- Tesla asks Travis County for 20-year property tax rebate deal - austonia ›
- Travis County delays vote on Tesla's proposed Austin factory - austonia ›
- Travis County delays vote on Tesla's proposed Austin factory - austonia ›
- Elon Musk eyes Austin for the Cybertruck - austonia ›
- Travis County will vote on tax incentive deal for Tesla - austonia ›
- Travis County updates economic incentives policy post-Tesla - austonia ›
- Californians love Austin, but does the city love them back? - austonia ›
Popular
(Jordan Vonderhaar/The Texas Tribune)
The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus is urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call an emergency special legislative session to consider a variety of gun restrictions and safety measures in the wake of a mass school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two adults dead this week.
In a letter released Saturday morning, all 13 Senate Democrats demanded lawmakers pass legislation that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. The Uvalde gunman was 18 and had purchased two AR-style rifles which he used in the attack.
The caucus is also calling for universal background checks for all firearm sales, “red flag” laws that allow a judge to temporarily remove firearms from people who are considered an imminent threat to themselves or others, a “cooling off period” for the purchase of a firearm and regulations on high capacity magazines for citizens.
“Texas has suffered more mass shootings over the past decade than any other state. In Sutherland Springs, 26 people died. At Santa Fe High School outside Houston, 10 people died. In El Paso, 23 people died at a Walmart. Seven people died in Midland-Odessa,” the letter reads. “After each of these mass killings, you have held press conferences and roundtables promising things would change. After the slaughter of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, those broken promises have never rung more hollow. The time to take real action is now.”
Such laws are unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has a track record of favoring legislation that loosens gun restrictions. Only the governor has the power to call lawmakers back into a special session for emergency work.
Asked about a special session at a Friday press conference in Uvalde, Abbott said “all options are on the table” adding that he believed laws would ultimately be passed to address this week’s horrors. However, he suggested laws would be more tailored toward addressing mental health, rather than gun control.
“You can expect robust discussion and my hope is laws are passed, that I will sign, addressing health care in this state,” he said, “That status quo is unacceptable. This crime is unacceptable. We’re not going to be here and do nothing about it.”
He resisted the idea of increasing the age to purchase a firearm, saying that since Texas became a state, 18-year-olds have been able to buy a gun.
He also dismissed universal background checks saying existing background check policies did not prevent the Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs shootings, which both happened while he has been in office.
“If everyone wants to seize upon a particular strategy and say that’s the golden strategy right there, look at what happened in the Santa Fe shooting,” he said. “A background check had no relevance because the shooter took the gun from his parents…Anyone who suggests we should focus on background checks as opposed to mental health, I suggest is mistaken.”
Since the massacre at Robb Elementary School, the governor’s comments about potential solutions have centered around increasing mental health services, rather than restricting access to firearms.
This story has been edited for length.
- Help for Uvalde: Aid for families after the school shooting - austonia ›
- Manor, Georgetown, Round Rock schools face threats following ... ›
- Uvalde Shooting - austonia ›
- PHOTOS: Community mourns Uvalde shooting victims in vigil at ... ›
- Beto O'Rourke confronts Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Uvalde press ... ›
- 14 elementary school students, 1 teacher killed in Uvalde shooting ... ›
- Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey calls for action following ... ›
- Police charge 15 year old in 6th Street mass shooting - austonia ›
(Project Connect)
Designs for stations along Project Connect’s Blue Line were presented this week, giving a detailed look at what part of the rail system extending from downtown to the airport could look like.
The planned stations that have gotten the latest focus include Waterfront, Travis Heights and Lakeshore stations past Lady Bird Lake.
At the Waterfront station, the preliminary design aims to prevent visual obstructions and save on costs. This is accomplished by a transit guideway that will lower from the bridge to a level station.
Heading onto East Riverside Drive, the light rail faces a curve requiring a slow down to about 10 miles per hour.
The Travis Heights station could involve relocating a pedestrian crosswalk zone at Alameda Drive to Blunn Creek. Since light rails can't effectively operate on a steep grade, this allows the transit guideway to avoid that.
From there, the rail will extend to the Norwood Park area, and though it will reach along the right-of-way zone, the park will be able to remain open.
A view of the Blue Line by Lady Bird Lake. (Project Connect)
The line involves some coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. That's because the department is working on an intersection that will have to be built before the phasing of the section of the Blue Line involving an I-35 crossing.
When it comes to the safety of cyclists and walkers, design ideas include a pedestrian hybrid beacon by East Bouldin Creek that would provide a protected signal to cross. And for the intersection TxDOT is carrying out, Project Connect is working with them on pedestrian access across the intersection. It could involve shared use paths along the street and crossings beneath it.
This summer, the public can expect 30% of design and cost estimates to be released. Though the project was $7.1 billion when voters approved it in November 2020, the latest estimates factoring in inflation and supply chain constraints show it could ultimately be upwards of $10 billion.
- Austin faces rocky road in hiking taxes for Project Connect - austonia ›
- City launches $65M in Project Connect anti-displacement plan ... ›
- CapMetro CEO switches to role in D.C. as Project Connect moves ... ›
- Project Connect doubles cost of Orange, Blue lines - austonia ›
- With Project Connect in the works, what place do EVs serve ... ›
- 5 ways Project Connect is moving forward in Austin - austonia ›
- Federal Transit Administration awards $750K for Project Connect ... ›
- Project Connect begins scoping phase, officially hitting the road ... ›
- Austonia answers: How feasible is the $7.1B Project Connect price ... ›
- The pros and cons of Austin's $7.1B transit plan Project Connect ›