The city of Liberty Hill will renovate the building at 1017 Main St. in downtown Liberty Hill, formerly known as Parker’s Corner Market, to prepare for a new tenant.

Two-minute impact: City Council approved a budget amendment at its March 25 meeting that included $150,000 for renovations. The purchase of the $1.6 million property was first approved at a special-called meeting Jan. 8. 

City documents state that the building requires improvements to ensure the safety of people in and around it. However, after repairs are completed, the city plans to rent the space out to a tenant for two years to “support the city’s mission to revitalize downtown by creating more opportunities to shop, eat, and gather in the area.”

The outlook: The lease agreement outlines a two-year term or until the city needs to use the space for other downtown improvements, according to city documents.

A timeline for the completion of repairs was not provided, nor was any information provided regarding the identity of a possible tenant.

Check out six upcoming or ongoing transportation projects across the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects
183A Toll at Scottsdale Drive dedicated U-turn
Project: This project will shift through-lanes west and construct a new right-turn lane at Scottsdale Drive.
Update: Plans that include the first 30% of the design process are being reviewed.

• Timeline: expected completion winter 2027

• Cost: $1.3 million

• Funding source: 2022 transportation bond

Ongoing projects
Austin to shutter South Terminal as airport expansion continues; future Concourse M designs revealed
The South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport officially shut down March 31 after less than a decade in operation.

The auxiliary terminal will be demolished to make way for new midfield taxiways as part of the multiyear Journey with AUS campus expansion. That includes the addition of the 26-gate Concourse B with a new connecting tunnel to the existing Barbara Jordan Terminal, and the development of a temporary six-gate southern terminal called Concourse M.

The Texas power grid is undergoing “generational” growth, experts said during the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ annual summit March 31 in Round Rock. Much of that growth is due to data centers—an industry under scrutiny from state lawmakers as some Texas communities push back against proposed developments.

The big picture: Over 2,000 projects totaling 453,000 megawatts are currently looking to connect to the state grid, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said April 1. About 357,000 megawatts of those connection requests are potential data centers, ERCOT documents show.

Looking ahead: Communities should take the lead on discussions about individual data center projects, Vegas told reporters. He said that when “communities that are ready to support those investments,” ERCOT is prepared to help data centers connect to the grid.

During a March 31 discussion on data centers, panelists noted that the projects have an “increasingly high” negative reputation in communities across the state. Austin consultant Eric Goff said developers often need to make commitments to local residents to earn their support for data center proposals.

Three medical cannabis businesses have been conditionally approved to participate in the Texas Compassionate Use Program, state officials announced April 1.

The big picture: The companies received conditional licenses from the Texas Department of Public Safety in an effort to expand access to medical cannabis products. Under the compassionate use program, physicians can prescribe medical-grade, low-THC products to eligible patients in partnership with licensed dispensaries.

Zooming in: Two of the three businesses given conditional licenses April 1 are affiliated with existing medical cannabis dispensaries that work in several other states. The new licensees are:

• GTI Texas, LLC (doing business as RISE Dispensaries) in West Texas

• Cresco Labs Texas, LLC in East Texas

• Texas Medica Collective, LLC in Northeast Texas

Conditional licensees must pass additional state evaluations before they can begin operating, according to the DPS.

More context: As Texas expands its medical cannabis program, the state is also tightening restrictions on the multibillion-dollar consumable hemp industry, Community Impact reported.