A potential fall bond election could ask voters to approve hundreds of millions of dollars of new debt, and Austin officials and community members are pursuing different approaches to shape the final package.

The details: City Council called for the development of a new comprehensive bond package funding various city needs in 2024. Since then, a resident-led task force and city staff have been reviewing what projects could be funded. With a changing civic financial outlook, council members also revised the policies that guide how and when bond elections should be called earlier this year.

After staff produced a $700 million bond projects recommendation in January, the bond task force released its own draft totaling $750 million this month and will finalize its proposal in May. At the same time, some council members called for a much smaller package this year—$400 million or less—to potentially be complemented by another bond in 2028 for priorities that wouldn't be covered this year.

A 2026 bond will be finalized later this summer.

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.

Central Health is aiming to make a lifesaving opioid antagonist more accessible to Travis County residents.

The Travis County hospital district plans to install 13 new naloxone distribution units in Austin, Pflugerville, Bastrop, Del Valle and Manor between April and September.

What you need to know: Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a fast-acting medication used to stop and reverse an opioid overdose and death from occurring, according to Central Health information. The county’s 45 current and future distribution units include outdoor vending machines, wall-mounted dispensers and newspaper-style kiosks.

Over the next six months, Central Health is slated to open distribution units at CommUnityCare Health Centers and Integral Care—the county's mental health authority. The organization will install four units at the Travis County Jail in Del Valle.

The impact: From 2023 to 2024, drug related-accidental deaths decreased by around 22%, while fentanyl-involved deaths fell by about 36%.

Central Health has distributed more than 3,200 free boxes of naloxone to community members, totaling over 6,400 doses, from October to March, according to Central Health data.

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.