Downtown Austin Roadmap to Recovery and Resilience

Downtown Austin

Austin is one of the country’s fastest-growing cities and most desirable places to live and do business. Austin’s downtown is the heartbeat of the region–the core of the region’s economic, governmental and cultural vibrancy. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, tourists stopped traveling, employees began working from home, conventions and live events were canceled, and shops, restaurants, bars and music venues closed.

The Downtown Austin Alliance and Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation dedicated months to conducting targeted research and to solicit input through focused workshops with our board, staff and an array of community stakeholders. The result is the articulation of focused, urgent short-term strategies and long-term goals that promote ongoing growth and enhanced resilience. This Roadmap to Recovery and Resilience supplements but does not replace prior organizational commitments.

As we move ahead to implement this Roadmap to Recovery and Resilience, we are committed to more inclusive practices and outcomes. We will engage new partners, coalitions and develop funding tools. We will also ensure a more inclusive approach to the design and activation of public places. As a result, downtown will be more vibrant, more welcoming, more exciting, more prosperous and more resilient than ever. It will continue to be the downtown you will always love

THE PRIORITIES

ADDRESS UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS

Guide the creation and implementation of a strategy to address unsheltered homelessness in downtown.

Work with partners to design and implement strategies to significantly reduce unsheltered homelessness.

Reduce the number experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the downtown area by 50% by 2022.

Fund and advise efforts to deliver comprehensive healthcare services to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness downtown.

ACTIVATE PARKS AND PUBLIC SPACES

Elevate inclusive and engaging programs and experiences in downtown parks and public spaces.

Substantially expand and coordinate programming in downtown parks and trails.

Regularly sponsor and produce arts, cultural and music events and programs in the public space.

SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES AND LIVE MUSIC

Support the preservation and recovery of downtown’s small, locally owned businesses and live music.

Actively advocate for needed financial support for downtown’s small, locally-owned businesses and live music scene (including shops, restaurants, bars and cultural destinations).

Ensure that street-level vacancies are creatively activated and enlivened.

DOWNTOWN AUSTIN

Publicize downtown’s appeal and promote interesting and enjoyable experiences downtown. PROMOTE

Promote downtown Austin as a lively and multifaceted destination.

Lead a campaign to promote return-to-work with best practices.

READY AND RESILIENT

Planning for downtown Austin’s future requires a comprehensive and integrated resilience strategy. It will prepare us to anticipate and mitigate future shocks and stressors that could negatively impact the health of the area’s people, economy, ecology and infrastructure. In collaboration with our partners, we are committed to developing an operational and communications emergency response plan and local and regional resilience plans and policies.

THE OPPORTUNITIES

TRANSFORM DOWNTOWN WITH INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLACEMAKING

Champion enhanced infrastructure to improve downtown’s appeal, vitality and resilience. Ensure that new public places support increased inclusion and vibrancy.

Project Connect. Create iconic transit hubs in downtown in conjunction with a robust citywide transit network.

I-35 Cap and Stitch Lower and cap the highway; stitch our city back together with inclusive, new public places.

Congress Avenue. Reconstruct Congress Avenue as the most vibrant and people-centric place in Austin.

South Central Waterfront. Launch a new neighborhood along Lady Bird Lake with parks, public spaces, transit access and panoramic views.

Palm District Plan. Optimize the eastern portion of downtown through careful and coordinated preservation and redevelopment of existing parks, neighborhoods and sub-districts.

Cypress and Shoal. Improve safety and access in the Seaholm District through a series of plazas, bridges and public space connections along 3rd Street.

Waterloo Greenway. Complete the 1.5-mile system of connected parks and green spaces in the heart of Austin.