Council taking another step toward mall redevelopment
Published 11:01 am Sunday, November 1, 2015
The Austin City Council is expected to take another small step ahead on the project to redevelop the Oak Park Mall property Monday.
The council is expected to approve a $375,000 grant for the project for Hy-Vee to acquire the main portion of the Oak Park Mall property, demolish it and build a 60,000- to 90,000-square-foot grocery store between Younkers to the west and Shopko and Cinemagic 7 to the east.
The Austin Port Authority unanimously approved the deal on Oct. 19, and the council approved additional funding and details relating to a tax increment finance district that same day.
The deal is expect to be finished the second week of November.
The council is also slated to discuss the planned replacement for the 11th Drive Northeast bridge over Interstate 90, which is planned for 2017.
It is expected to be the first bridge designed under new specifications outlined in the Visual Quality Manual, which was developed by Vision 2020’s Gateway to Austin Committee. The plan outlines ways to beautify the I-90 corridor through Austin with landscaping, bridge designs and wider sidewalks.