Burlington is opening its 151st Texas location in Northwest Austin this spring, with apparel, pet goods and more.

What they offer: The new store will sell discounted retail items, including clothing, beauty, pet care, shoes and home goods. Burlington stocks products up to 60% off from other retailers, with new merchandise arriving daily, according to a news release. 

• 10515 N. Mopac Expy. Bldg. 1, Austin

After about four years of planning and construction, the $250 million Amazon warehouse and distribution center located along CR 172 in Round Rock is operational. 

What you need to know: Planning and Development Services Director Brad Dushkin confirmed May 15 that the facility was issued a temporary certificate of occupancy May 13. The facility was previously set to open in late April, but rain delayed the finish out of CR 172 road improvements required before the building could be occupied. 

The city will give the facility a full certificate of occupancy once some minor aspects of improvements remaining, he said. 

Did you know? An adjacent property owned by Amazon has also been zoned for a data center, but it has not been built. The warehouse and distribution center alone is estimated to bring roughly 150 to 200 jobs to the city, according to Jessica Breaux, Amazon's senior manager of economic development.

The latest data from Unlock MLS shows signs that the housing market is ticking up in Central Texas, with higher year-over-year home sales and homes selling closer to their original listing price.

The details: Representing the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, the data released May 12 shows residential home sales increased 2% year over year in April for the MSA, reaching 2,648. That's the highest number of monthly home sales so far this year, up from a 0.5% year-over-year increase in March and decreases in both January and February. 

“What stands out in April’s data is the shift in buyer psychology and overall market momentum," said Vaike O’Grady, market research advisor at Unlock MLS, in a news release. "Many buyers who had been delaying their home search took advantage of the temporary dip in mortgage rates we saw earlier this year and moved quickly once conditions became more manageable."

Increasing pending and closed sales point to a market where buyers are "stepping into the market with more urgency," O'Grady said.

Check out the latest transportation projects across the Austin metro. 

Upcoming projects
Bee Cave Road AI traffic signals
Project: West Lake Hills will install nine artificial intelligence traffic signals along Bee Cave Road to try and improve traffic efficiency along the corridor.
Update: City Council moved forward with funding the traffic signals April 22.

• Timeline: TBD
• Cost: $360,000
• Funding source: city tax revenue proceeds, general fund

• Timeline: August 2024-summer 2027
• Cost: $52.4 million
• Funding source: Williamson County 2019 road bond