09.07.2023

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69º | Rainy | 87% chance of rain | Sunrise 7:28 a.m. | Sunset 5:42 p.m.

📈 Onward and upward

Opportunity Austin’s plan for the next five years of growth in ATX

A group of people listening to a panel at the Opportunity Austin conference.

Tony DeLisi, senior manager of economic development at Ernst & Young, speaks at an Opportunity Austin event on Wednesday. | Photo by ATXtoday

Between Tesla, Samsung, and hundreds of other new companies, the jobs just keep coming to Austin. Now, business leaders say, the challenge facing the Capital City is maintaining that boomtown status in a sustainable way.

At an event downtown Wednesday, Opportunity Austin — an economic development initiative that recently split from the Austin Chamber of Commerce — outlined its plan for the next five years of economic growth in ATX. Here’s what to know.

Where are we now?

To the surprise of no one who’s read the news in the last 30 years, Austin is growing.

Between 2016 and 2021, Austin’s employment grew by 16.8% — higher than comparable cities like Phoenix and Nashville, and significantly higher than Texas’ rate of 7%.

However, Austin is also growing increasingly unaffordable, which business leaders fear could make it harder for companies to recruit talent and sustain growth.

“We are losing some of our advantage when we talk about affordability,” said Tony DeLisi, senior manager of economic development at Ernst & Young, at the event.

A rendering of the new UT Impact Labs. — UT Austin and Karlin Real Estate announced a new, 10,000-sqft wet lab called UT Impact Labs.
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Rendering provided by Karlin Real Estate

Are life sciences the future?

Investments in the life sciences appear to be of key focus for Austin’s business leaders.

At the event on Wednesday, UT Austin and Karlin Real Estate announced a new, 10,000-sqft wet lab at Parmer Austin. The initiative, called UT Impact Labs, will be the university’s first off-campus site for the Discovery to Impact program.

The news comes on the heels of UT’s newly announced partnership with MD Anderson to build hospital space on the site of the Frank Erwin Center, adding to an already-growing innovation district downtown.

But that’s not all — Opportunity Austin outlined four economic priorities for the next five years in Bat City. Click the button below to read the breakdown.

Where to next?

Events

Thursday, Sept. 7

Realms of Death | Thursday, Sept. 7 | 8 p.m. | Mohawk Austin, 912 Red River St., Austin | $15 | This packed lineup also includes bands Lifecycles, Disowned, Feed Your Body to the Void, and Nerve.

Friday, Sept. 8

MotoAmerica Superbikes at Texas | Friday, Sept. 8-Sunday, Sept. 10 | Times vary | Circuit of the Americas, 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd., Austin | $30-$99 | Watch races, take classes, and meet riders at this weekend-long event for all things motorbikes.
Main Course Comedy | Friday, Sept. 8 | 10-11:30 p.m. | Vulcan Gas Company, 418 E. 6th St., Austin | $25-$30 | Strap in for a secret lineup of comedians who have been featured on Netflix, HBO, Comedy Central, and Showtime.

Saturday, Sept. 9

Teresa Lozano Long Community Day | Saturday, Sept. 9 | 12 p.m. | The Long Center, 701 W. Riverside Dr., Austin | Free | Celebrate the Long Center’s founder with a blowout block party featuring live music, cocktails, a gallery, vendors, and games.
Texas German Heritage Dinner | Saturday, Sept. 9 | 5:30-8 p.m. | Central Market North Lamar, 4001 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin | $75 | Learn about German influence on Texas food and try your hand at potato salad, schnitzel, cabbage, and a German apple cake.

Sunday, Sept. 10

The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival | Sunday, Sept. 10 | 3-9 p.m. | The Far Out Lounge & Stage, 8504 S. Congress Ave., Austin | $10-$15 | The 33rd edition of this fiery fest returns in South Austin — expect to try ~20 local hot sauces, listen to live music, and browse drinks + frozen treats for purchase.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Open

Downtown’s Brush Square reopened to the public after a year’s worth of improvements, including new seating, walkways, event lawn, and shaded deck. The city will celebrate the changes — plus restoration of the O. Henry Museum — at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 17. (Austin Towers)

Travel

More than 2.04 million passengers traveled through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in July, surpassing last May as the airport’s busiest month ever. Compared to last July, traffic increased by 3.68%.

Edu

UT researchers are working on a dual-layer mesh technology that could help clean up oil spilled in water. The product, which also uses induction heating, could be 10 times more effective than the existing processes. (KVUE)

Announced

The lineup for the first half of the 49th season of “Austin City Limits” is out, and includes stars like Foo Fighters, Lil Yachty, and Jorge Drexler. See the full list and find out how you can attend a taping. (Austin American-Statesman)

Concert

Break out the boots. Country star Tyler Childers will bring his “Mule Pull Tour” to the Moody Center this spring. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, Sept. 13 for the show on Wednesday, April 10.

Watch

A reboot of ABC show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” — starring “Home Edit” duo Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer — will shoot its pilot in Hutto. Filming lasts from Monday, Sept. 11 to Sunday, Sept. 17 and features the local Taylor Morrison Home Corporation. (CultureMap Austin)

Finance

This leading credit card touts 0% intro APR on balance transfers for guess how many months… with no annual fee. (Hint: The 0% intro APR period lasts until 2025.) Details revealed here.*

Quiz

Do you know your news?

What, did you think we forgot to quiz you on August’s top headlines? Not a chance.

If you’re a long-time reader of ATXtoday, you know that at the start of each new month, we look back on the biggest news of the last ~30 days. This month, we’re quizzing you on…

🌟 The most famous Austinite
🏙 A downtown development update
🔥 Record-breaking heat

Ready to show what you know? Click the button below to take our August news quiz. Get a high enough score, and you just might get a shout out in an upcoming newsletter.

Take the quiz

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
London

From the editor

I’m back at it after spending about 10 wonderful days in Bali, Indonesia. While I was there, I experienced my first earthquake, a 7.1-magnitude shocker that lasted about 90 seconds. Don’t worry, there was no damage — or tsunami — reported.

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