Final Financing Cleared for St. John Redevelopment, Plus Tonight's Live Sets
Austin, TX · September 14, 2026
Shake off the weekend’s festival dust — work crews are taking over 800 East St. John this morning, and the jazz clubs on Congress have quiet tables waiting.
The Lead
After sitting vacant for nearly two decades, the 19-acre former Home Depot site at 800 East St. John Avenue cleared its final major financial hurdle today. A $6.4 million catalytic investment will unlock construction on 201 deeply affordable apartments, meeting the key city condition required to launch a companion mixed-income phase with 325 additional homes.
For the surrounding St. John neighborhood, the breakthrough delivers on years of persistent community advocacy that began when the city acquired the blighted parcel in 2013. Along with more than 500 homes, the master plan transforms the cracked asphalt into a public park, retail storefronts, and dedicated community spaces.
With financing now settled, project partners will finalize site permits before staging heavy equipment along Interstate 35 later this fall.
Local Pulse
Nightly Lane Closures Hit Interstate 35 Crews are reducing main lanes to single files between Oltorf and State Highway 45 SE through Thursday morning.
Council Postpones Rosedale School Rezoning Vote City officials delayed the final land-use decision to September 24 to give neighbors and school administrators time to compromise.
Longhorns Claim Top College Football Ranking Saturday night’s stunning fourth-quarter comeback over Ohio State vaulted Texas to number one in the national AP poll.
Today's Outlook
- High 99°F · Low 81°F — Partly cloudy
- Hydrate well and stick to shaded patios while the near-triple-digit afternoon heat lingers.
What's On Around Town
Jon Blondell & Friends Elephant Room (315 Congress Ave), 6:00 PM Basement happy hour jazz with no cover charge before eight.
Motown Monday The Highball (1120 S Lamar Blvd), 7:30 PM Free-flowing soul and beginner swing lessons from the Matchmaker Band.
Bob Schneider’s Lonelyland The Saxon Pub (1320 S Lamar Blvd), 8:30 PM A quintessential South Lamar songwriting ritual running over two decades.
Church on Monday The Continental Gallery (1313 S Congress Ave), 8:30 PM Elias Haslanger leads hard-bop saxophone grooves above South Congress.
Spotlight & Story
- Moore's Crossing Bridge
- Walk across this quiet iron pedestrian span over Onion Creek in Richard Moya Park, and you are treading on the original 1884 Congress Avenue bridge. Dismantled downtown in 1910, its surviving Whipple truss sections were reassembled here in 1922 above the water.
Austin Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
Sent with care by MailerDot — your city, every morning.