A potential 2026 bond totaling hundreds of millions of dollars is moving forward, even as city staff and some officials have urged a pause on the process.

The details: City Council set a new framework for when they can order bond elections based on Austin's financial position earlier this year. And in May, they formally advanced the 2026 bond's development ahead of a final election decision to come this summer.

While city finance staff previously suggested capping the size of a 2026 program due to government debt capacity, weeks ago they recommended against any vote in 2026 in favor of a broader 2028 package. Officials have also been split over whether a 2026 bond is needed and how much funding should be included. This spring, they voted to revise finance policies to allow for new bonds even if some past bond projects aren't completed.

FitRanch Training and Recovery is coming soon to North Loop, bringing group fitness classes, personal training and recovery resources, according to owners Aaron and Starla Keiser. The owners are targeting a late July opening date, with founding memberships on sale now. 

The details: The training center will offer strength, HIIT and athletic conditioning with five to nine classes per day. The space also features a 3,500-square-foot outdoor turf for additional workout space. 

Learn more: The recovery suite is set to include an infrared sauna, red light therapy, cold plunge, compression therapy and showers. 

• Coming soon in late July

• 1610 W. North Loop Blvd., Austin

A Sprouts Farmers Market, East 51st Street improvements and a new museum building are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Deposition Technology ($27 million): This project at the semiconductor support and manufacturing company consists of a cleanroom expansion and renovation.

2. East 51st Street ($17 million): This project involves the revitalization of East 51st Street from I-35 to Berkman Drive.

3. Sprouts Farmers Market ($4.8 Million): A new location for the grocery store is coming to Hutto.

4. UT Dinosaur Trackways ($4.2 million): The building is a 2,100-square-foot single-story museum, which aims to conserve and house some of Texas’ most renowned fossilized footprints made 113 million years ago by a sauropod and a theropod near Glen Rose.

5. Texas State University: Student Success Commons at the Albert B. Alkek Library ($3.5 million): This project involves the interior renovation of approximately 38,000 square feet of the sixth floor of Alkek Library to add staff offices and study spaces.

The Lower Colorado River Authority is set to invest billions in infrastructure across its service area to address the needs of Central Texas' growing population. 

What you need to know: The authority announced its investment and business plan for fiscal year 2026-27 on May 21. The plan projects water demand will grow "significantly" through 2031, alongside electrical demand. 

The details: Plans show power, water and broadband infrastructure development account for $1.8 billion for just FY 2026-27. The funds will come from the authority's revenues and debt, with no state appropriations included, a news release states.

Texas’ sweeping immigration enforcement law can take effect for now, a federal appeals court ruled May 29.

The background: Senate Bill 4 gives Texas officials the unprecedented authority to arrest and deport migrants suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. State lawmakers passed the measure in late 2023, and it has largely been tied up in court since.

The latest: In an unpublished order May 29, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed SB 4 to take effect as the case continues, lifting a lower court order that had blocked portions of the law. 

What they're saying: In a joint statement, a trio of civil rights groups decried the May 29 decision as “disappointing and out of step with the Constitution,” saying that they would continue to fight the law in court.

Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the order as a “major border security victory.” State agencies have not detailed their plans to arrest, detain or deport migrants under SB 4.