Ahead of their vote for the plan April 23, Austin officials appear supportive of a proposed city incentive for a hotel and convention center project at Circuit of the Americas that could pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy.

The details: The potential 30-year economic incentive deal between Austin and RIDA Development would support an estimated $985 million resort project at COTA. RIDA plans to build a 1,000-room hotel and 170,000-square-foot conference center. The hotel will include dining and bar areas, a golf course and driving range, and a lazy river similar to the Texas-shaped feature at RIDA's Marriott Marquis Houston.

What else: The proposed performance-based incentive wouldn't affect the city's general fund budget or require any upfront public payment. Austin would instead reimburse 8.25% of the room night revenue eventually generated by the hotel after it's in operation and contributing hotel occupancy tax, or HOT, revenue to the city.

A new medical center and advanced research campus is on track to open in Northwest Austin by 2030.

What happened: University of Texas at Austin officials announced the opening of the UT Dell Medical Center and UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research at an event April 21.

The new Dell Medical School facilities follow $750 million in new investments from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

The details: The UT Dell Medical Center will encompass 27 acres of a 300-acre advanced research campus that is aimed to position Texas as a leading center for life sciences, according to UT information. Located near The Domain shopping center, the Campus for Advanced Research will absorb UT's current J.J. Pickle Research Campus.

The academic medical center will include a 300-to-500-bed hospital providing care for serious medical conditions, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Stay tuned: UT expects to break ground on the center in late 2026 for a targeted opening date of 2030, including a hospital tower, outpatient facilities and a full-service emergency department.

Austin-Travis County EMS has partnered with We Are Blood to implement a blood distribution plan for mass casualty incidents. The plan strengthens the region’s ability to respond to large-scale emergencies and helps patients receive transfusions quickly.

At a glance: The Mass Casualty Incident Whole Blood Deployment Plan is intended to quicken emergency response in Central Texas by optimizing the deployment of blood units to major incidents, according to an ATCEMS news release.

The plan outlines four distinct steps in the coordination of whole blood deployment to mass casualty incidents in the region:

• Activation: ATCEMS notifies We Are Blood of the mass casualty incident and the estimated amount of blood needed.
• Rapid Staging: We Are Blood prepares units of blood and pre-packed supplies for transfusions.
• Field Deployment: ATCEMS personnel get the units from the blood bank.
• On-Scene Management: A dedicated blood officer oversees blood and equipment distribution at the scene.

From an elementary school replacement in Austin to a Home Depot in San Marcos, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Andrews Elementary School modernization ($52 million): This project involves the complete removal and replacement of an existing elementary school. Construction will start this summer.

2. Willow East leasing office ($25 million): Construction on a leasing office for a new apartment complex in Austin will begin this summer.

3. Home Depot ($13 million): The new store in San Marcos will be 107,797 square feet with a 28,120-square-foot garden center.

4. Discount Tire ($2 million): Construction will begin next month on an 8,000-square-foot Discount Tire location in Georgetown. 

5. Layne's Chicken Fingers ($1.1 million): A new Layne's chicken fingers restaurant will be built in New Braunfels.