GOOD SMART GROWTH!
Fifteen projects, some already built (like the Nokonah and the West Avenue Lofts), some under construction (like the Convention Center Hotel and the Pedernales Live/Work project), and some vaporware (like Sixth + Lamar and the Triangle), were granted approximately $5 million in fee waivers and other noncash incentives under the Smart Growth Matrix, which was formally abolished last month.
BAD SMART GROWTH!
The CSC complex (only two-thirds completed), the Intel building (less than half-finished before being abandoned), and the Vignette campus (not built at all) got, between them, many more millions of city dollars in incentives in off-the-grid deals cooked up by City Hall’s brightest minds.
UGLY SMART GROWTH!
The Domain, planned for Braker Lane across from IBM in Northwest Austin, has been pledged up to $37 million in real cash money in return for vague (but “performance-based”!) commitments to creating jobs and improving the tax base.
This article appears in Lost Austin II.