The preliminary "vision framework" for the city's Palm District, which roughly runs between I-35 and Trinity Street south of 15th Street, lays out several goals for guiding the district's growth. The Palm District is home to landmarks such as the Austin Convention Center, Palm School, Waterloo Park and Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in addition to the Rainey Street, and Red River and Innovation districts.
The drafting of development and investment guidelines for the Palm District began last spring and follows earlier direction from City Council to craft a new small-area plan for the edge of downtown. Council and planners have focused on the Palm District given the many cultural and natural assets located there, its place in the city's history of segregation, and new transportation and development projects expected to further reshape the area in the near future.
“The fundamental goal of the Palm District Planning Initiative is to engage stakeholders and the public to develop a shared vision for an area of downtown that has a rich history and that we know is evolving quickly," said Stevie Greathouse, the initiative's manager with the housing and planning department, last June.
Since planning kicked off last spring, the initiative moved through several rounds of community feedback to solicit resident and stakeholder hopes for the district. The draft framework released this month has compiled some of that input centered around the topics of inclusive growth, culture, mobility and the area's natural amenities.
Among the growth-related goals floated in the new framework are anti-displacement policies, affordable housing requirements for all new developments and an overall focus on historically excluded populations. Planners also noted a desire to highlight the area's cultural background, specifically the Mexican American, American Indian, African American and other immigrant communities with histories in east downtown.
The district will be home to future transit hubs as Project Connect rolls out and will be affected by the controversial planned expansion of I-35. The draft framework calls for better connections between downtown and East Austin through that highway project and overall improvements to bike and pedestrian options in the area. The plan also includes a segment on environmental health such as revegetation along Waller Creek and better access and restoration along the creek and Waterloo Greenway.
Greathouse said the city plans to collect further feedback on the framework this year with options including a virtual town hall March 9 and the survey on the project's SpeakUp Austin webpage. Residents may also contact 311 or email [email protected] with comments. A final draft of the plan is expected to be available for public review by the summer.
A draft small-area plan will be brought to planning commission and eventually City Council later this year to potentially cement the new Palm District guidelines.
