Efforts to bring a full-service hospital to Bastrop are advancing with the launch of a second phase of research.

What happened: Bastrop City Council unanimously approved spending up to $54,000 on July 14 for Realty Trust Group to continue studying a proposed hospital within the 400-acre Bastrop West development.

Why it matters: As previously reported by Community Impact, the first phase found the region was short about 523 hospital beds and that 97% of residents left the area for inpatient, specialty and acute care.

What’s next: Officials said the second phase will refine the potential service area, identify needed specialties and support discussions with Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health, St. David’s HealthCare Methodist Healthcare.

Bastrop's only dedicated coworking space has a new owner.

Amaria Bishop took over All Connect Bastrop CoWork, previously known as Bastrop CoWork, in April—about one year after previous owners Richard "RB" Brown and his wife, Chris Kelly, opened the spot.

What they offer: The coworking space is open to local nonprofits, business professionals, counselors for private sessions and remote workers, Bishop said.

"Parents especially like that they can get work done while their kids enjoy the playplace next door at Wildchild," she added.

Amenities include:

• Wi-FI

• Sit-stand desks

• Monitors

• Phone chargers

• Plug-in and printing capabilities

• Whiteboards and markers

What's changing: "We’ve been updating the space to support more meetings and community use while keeping the quiet, productive atmosphere," Bishop said, noting that it is still "a great spot for focused work and Zoom meetings."

• Inside Bastrop Fitness Project, 303 Martin Luther King Drive, Ste. 2, Bastrop

Check out the latest transportation project updates across the Austin metro. 

Upcoming projects

Austin Light Rail vehicle design to advance under $39M contract with Stadler: Switzerland-based Stadler has been selected to deliver the train cars for Austin Light Rail, the third and final major vendor brought on for the project's first stages this year. Officials with the Austin Transit Partnership advanced a $39 million contract with Stadler to design the fully electric vehicles July 15.

Ongoing projects

North-south route coming to Round Rock’s west side: Residents on Round Rock’s west side will soon have a true alternative to I-35 once the city and county complete the full extension of Wyoming Springs Drive, officials said in June. Ongoing and future road projects are set to help drivers and pedestrians reach their destinations faster and with less traffic.

Completed projects

New bridge over Onion Creek opens in Buda, increasing city access: The bridge will provide community members and first responders a faster route to travel in the city, connecting Cole Springs Road with FM 2770.

Austin City Council backed a long-term tax financing plan for infrastructure in the Dog's Head, with added environmental standards and other requirements tied to development in the area.

The overview: The creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, sets up decades of mixed-use development across the more than 2,600-acre Dog's Head.

Council's vote for the TIRZ plan July 23 came two months after they annexed the area into city limits and backed the 45-year agreement with landowner Endeavor Real Estate Group.

By the numbers: The district's value is expected to grow by billions of dollars in the years ahead, adding significant tax revenue for the city and potentially Travis County as construction takes place.

Under the TIRZ, a share of those collections would be used to reimburse new infrastructure project costs.

More details: The plans were opposed by scores of Austinites at City Hall, with a range of criticisms leveled at proposed projects and Endeavor's approach.

Officials committed to improved transparency and public outreach as they voted to advance the Dog's Head items July 23.

Texas’ power grid operator and regulator have laid out their plans to regulate data centers that connect to the state grid and ensure data center companies, not residents, pay for the industry’s growth.

What's happening: To shield Texans from the negative impacts of data center growth, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas are:

• Prohibiting data centers from taking existing power resources off the grid
• Launching a new process to evaluate large projects looking to connect to the grid
• Creating standards that large consumers must meet before joining the grid
• Developing incentives for large consumers to reduce their energy use ahead of a grid emergency
• Requiring large companies to pay for the grid infrastructure needed to serve them
• Improving ERCOT’s process for projecting future demand