The Mexic-Arte Museum is planning to temporarily relocate to the Austin History Center during the redevelopment of its longtime home downtown.

The details: The original museum location at 419 Congress Ave. is being demolished and reconstructed through a city-supported project. The expansion is partially funded with $14 million from Austin's 2006 and 2018 cultural bonds, and will replace the three-story downtown building on Congress with a new four-story, 30,000-square-foot museum.

Going forward: While that work takes place, Mexic-Arte will shift its operations to the history center facility on the western side of downtown. City Council authorized the museum's lease of 12,072 square feet at the AHC for up to four years on April 9.

The museum will pay the city $100 annually over the course of its three-year lease, with an optional fourth year extension. While council advanced the leasing process this spring, final details are still being worked out before the relocation moves ahead.

Child care scholarships, after-school care and other efforts are underway to grow a voter-approved initiative to provide more affordable child care for low-income families in Travis County.

The big picture: In 2024, voters approved increasing the county's tax rate to generate $75 million for Raising Travis County. So far, the county has awarded more than $28 million to the Workforce Solutions Capital Area nonprofit, local school districts and other community organizations.

An additional $17 million in child care contracts is set to go before the Travis County Commissioner Court for approval.

Current situation: The county has awarded $17.34 million to Workforce Solutions Capital Area to cover 1,000 child care scholarships annually for children up to 3 years old. The organization has also received $4.16 million for quality improvements, including teacher raises or curriculum, Meunier said.

Looking ahead: Travis County is seeking to offer contracted slots by paying child care providers to reserve seats for low-income families. The county also plans to assist providers in offering child care during nontraditional working hours.

Austin is seeking to acquire a site just north of West Lake Hills to build a new emergency and public service communications radio tower for the Greater Austin-Travis County Regional Radio System.

The city may pursue eminent domain proceedings for the future GATRRS tower on 0.28 acres of land on Mount Larson Road. The legal action could come as Austin and the property's current owner, a Fox-affiliated entity, haven't been able to agree on a deal for the land.

What's happening: The city values the land at $61,505, while the Travis Central Appraisal District assessed it at $1.83 million this year. Acquiring the land and building a new radio tower could save Austin at least $200,000 annually, and the site was identified as ideal for the tower's construction by city and third-party assessments.

The Mount Larson property is located just outside city limits in Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. The site was identified as "ideal" for tower construction based on reviews by Austin Technology Services and a third-party consultant.

Check out the latest upcoming, ongoing or completed transportation projects around the Austin metro.

Ongoing projects
Oak Knoll Flood Risk Reduction
Project: The project will improve the storm drain system in part of the Oak Knoll neighborhood to reduce the risk of flooding. 
Update: According to Austin Capital Delivery Services, crews will next install storm drains along Woodcrest Drive and Columbia Oaks Court, during which time a 24-hour flagger station on Columbia Oaks Drive and J. Gregg Cove will be set up to control traffic.

• Timeline: 2025-27

• Cost: $9 million

• Funding source: city of Austin 2018 bond

Completed projects 
CARTS boosts metro-bound Bastrop County routes to cut traffic, emissions
Bastrop County commuters gained new transit options March 2 with the launch of two regional bus routes culminating in downtown Austin: one connecting Bastrop and Smithville, and the other connecting Georgetown and Round Rock. Riders can park at CARTS Park & Ride locations and take coach buses into Austin, offering an alternative to driving and downtown parking.