The Austin City Council passed a resolution on July 18, modifying Austin’s Downtown Density Bonus Program, which was established in 2014 to promote the development of high-rise buildings to support affordable housing in the city. 

The resolution called for an update to the University Neighborhood Overlay, a student housing density bonus program, with plans to expand UNO to other areas of the city. This expansion could grant off-campus students living outside of the West Campus neighborhood the same housing benefits that students living in West Campus apartments receive, such as high-rise apartments, affordable housing and expansive sidewalks.

Council Member Zohaib “Zo” Qadri was one of the sponsors of the resolution and said giving more off-campus housing options would benefit students. 

“As the University has grown and people have moved away from UT, not everyone lives in West Campus,” Qadri said. “You have students who move into Riverside and go to the south. (We’re) just making sure that we continue to have affordable options for students.” 

The Real Estate Council of Austin, a member-driven organization with 1,900 members of the commercial and real estate community, is one of the City Council’s stakeholders for the Density Bonus Program. Alina Carnahan, vice president of advocacy of the Real Estate Council, said the resolution would increase the city’s affordable housing and tax base.

“It’s a huge boon to our tax base as an entire city that we have these big buildings downtown,” Carnahan said. “(We want to) make downtown a place where people want to live, work and play. And then, on the other hand, getting community benefits like affordable housing (downtown), that’s really a huge success for everyone involved.”

The resolution calls for testing of the proposed changes, with the possibility of approval for a final ordinance next spring. Jake Wegmann, an associate professor in the community and regional planning department, said UNO has revitalized West Campus’ character.

“UNO has been tremendously successful in transforming neighborhoods (and) producing student housing, some of which has been below market,” Wegmann said. “It seems like a really good idea to expand UNO to a new area that is still very close to campus.”