AUSTIN, Texas – January 11, 2023 – ULI Austin, an education, research and resource organization focused on shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide, today released its Historic-Age Housing Preservation Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) report for the City of Austin and Preservation Austin.

Residential and commercial development continues at a rapid pace, with few neighborhoods free from development pressure. Across Austin, developers are purchasing and demolishing modest, historic-age homes to make way for new housing units.

Recognizing this accelerated trend after decades of growth, the City of Austin launched the development of a new Equity-Based Preservation Plan to replace its 1981 preservation plan. A community working group appointed by the Historic Landmark Commission is guiding the multiyear planning process, supported by the City’s Historic Preservation and Displacement Preservation offices.

To inform the draft preservation plan, the City and Preservation Austin, Austin’s citywide preservation nonprofit, turned to ULI Austin and the Terwilliger Center for Housing. The groups sought insight on a key question: What policies, programs, and tools could be implemented to preserve historic-age housing (50 years old and older) while supporting affordability and preventing displacement?

This question was addressed through the TAP process. TAPs provide expert, multidisciplinary, unbiased advice to local governments, public agencies and nonprofit organizations facing complex land use and real estate issues. TAP panelists spend two days interviewing stakeholders, evaluating the challenges, and ultimately arriving at a set of recommendations that the sponsoring organization can use to guide development going forward.

The panel offered immediate, long term and future policy and regulation recommendations, process and program recommendations and regional taxation recommendations. The full TAP report can be found here.

Highlights from the TAP report include:

Policy and Regulation Recommendations

• Coordination and collaboration among city departments
• Flexibility with ADU policies
• Land leasing for ADUs
• Expanding Community Land Trusts
• Expedient and cost-effective preservation
• Offering tax benefits
• Offering preservation bonuses
• SMART Housing program alignment
• Small lot amnesty

Process and Program Recommendations

• Promote programs and the value of preservation
• Easy access to information
• One-point application process
• Program co-development
• Establish trusted ombudsman
• Place-based capacity
• Community Land Trusts through community development corporations
• Establishment of life estates
• Home repair programs
• Neighborhood resource centers
• Training for homeowners
• Preservation trades education
• Programs specific to older homes
• Tenant purchase programs

Regional Taxation Recommendations

• Shift in reassessment procedures
• Tax abatement options
• Promotion of tax exemption options
• Revision of volunteer-in-lieu-of-tax-payment program

The Housing Preservation TAP report will be the topic of discussion at the ULI Austin monthly breakfast on Wednesday, January 25.

David Steinwedell, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Affordable Central Texas and Austin Housing and Conservancy Fund, served as TAP Chair. Additional TAP Panel Members included David Carroll, Partner and Director of Multifamily – Urban Foundry Architecture; Ashton Cumberbatch, Jr., President and Cofounder -Equidad ATX; Di Gao, Senior Director of Research & Development – National Trust for Historic Preservation; Shanon Shea Miller, Director/Historic Preservation Officer – City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation; and Mark Rogers, Executive Director – Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation.

About ULI Austin:

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a member-led organization shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. ULI is a network of people in every profession and sector in real estate development and land use from all over the world and in every career stage. While global in scope, ULI is local in impact through sharing knowledge and making connections. The Austin District Council was founded in 1994 and now includes over 1100 members. Our members are involved in all aspects of the development and city planning process – private, public, and nonprofit. For more information, visit Austin.ULI.org.