🟪 Roadway plans move forward as Dog's Head site prepped for major industrial project (Community Impact)

🟪 City of Round Rock shares financial outlook ahead of budget process for 2026-27 financial year (Community Impact)

🟪 Taylor rejects citizens' effort to temporarily ban data centers (KUT)

🟪 Spurs get permission for more international games, plus several Austin 'home' games per season (KUT)

🟪 In major move, Fort Worth Zoning Commission votes against data center restrictions (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

🟪 Trump declares Iran ceasefire 'over.' So what happens now? (Associated Press)

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As Austin (MSA) continues to grow, more and more development is happening beyond the famed Austin City Limits. This Monthly LinkedGlenn event series highlights a single fast growing Austin suburb and July's stop is all about Hutto.... Hippos, Co-Op, Data Centers, Industrial, Retail, Downtown Redevelopment, Rooftops, Transportation and so much more...All things growth.

Full event details and ticket information here.

✅ Roadway plans move forward as Dog's Head site prepped for major industrial project (Community Impact)

Preparations for the first major addition to the recently annexed Dog's Head are underway, while local leaders ready to adopt a long-term public financing plan for upgrades across the more than 4-square-mile East Austin megasite.

In May, Austin City Council annexed the 2,614-acre Dog's Head and entered a 45-year development agreement for the area's build-out. The city and Travis County are now each considering a tax financing plan for the extensive public infrastructure needed to support future additions there, while some officials and residents are pressing for environmental protections and other benefits ahead of decades of anticipated construction.

A range of mixed-use development is possible across the Dog's Head after city officials' initial vote for a long-term deal this spring. Overall plans have yet to be detailed by Endeavor Real Estate Group, but local governments are moving quickly through their reviews this summer in anticipation of securing the area's first major industrial tenant… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ City of Round Rock shares financial outlook ahead of budget process for 2026-27 financial year (Community Impact)

As the end of the 2025-26 financial year approaches, city staff shared the long-range outlook influencing decisions for the upcoming fiscal year.

Kevin Klosterboer, the city's chief financial officer, provided a general outlook on the city's finances during the July 7 Round Rock City Council packet briefing. In it, he highlighted the long-term nature of the city's financial planning and stability amid potential uncertainty.

As the city heads into the budget-making process for fiscal year 2026-27, Klosterboer said the planned general fund already includes about $6 million in additional base salary increases, with the majority set aside for the fire and police departments.

Round Rock's population is expected to grow about 3% per year, he said, meaning the city will continue to invest in its services and infrastructure to support additional residents.

The city has also observed increased commercial property values, with taxable values expected to rise to $30 billion by 2031, due in part to large developments like The District. However, residential values are decreasing, he said, and the city has observed a 6% drop. New homes are under construction, and over the next few years, the city can expect a little over $2 million in property taxes annually as new homes are added to its tax rolls… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Taylor rejects citizens' effort to temporarily ban data centers (KUT)

The Taylor City Council was set to consider a proposed ordinance Thursday night that would temporarily ban data centers. But 15 minutes after the council meeting began, the city released a statement on its Facebook page saying council members would not be taking any action on the proposed ban.

"State law does not allow a city to enact or change its zoning by popular vote," Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Cmerek said at the meeting. "This is a determination about the legal process made available to the city. It's not a judgment about a policy issue — about the concerns you guys have voiced."

The decision and the way it was communicated caught many people attending the meeting off guard. Multiple residents inside the council chamber gasped as they learned about the Facebook post from organizer Sarah Winters' public remarks criticizing it… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Spurs get permission for more international games, plus several Austin 'home' games per season (KUT)

Bexar County leaders on Tuesday granted the San Antonio Spurs permission to play four regular-season home games outside of the Frost Bank Center during each of the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 NBA seasons — an increase from the three games the team played in other locations in the past two seasons.

The team declined to comment on where the games would be held, but they're already scheduled to play two international games next season, against the New Orleans Pelicans in Paris, France and in Manchester, England.

Commissioner Justin Rodriguez (Pct. 2), who put the item on the Commissioners Court's July 7 agenda, said the agreement would give the Spurs the flexibility to pursue international opportunities that have become popular within the NBA, while also playing some games in Austin during the San Antonio Rodeo season, when the Frost Bank Center is unavailable.

"It's not guaranteeing [four games will be played elsewhere], but it's up to [four]," Rodriguez said. "When the Spurs, for example, are gone during the Rodeo Road Trip, it allows [the team] to work with the NBA schedulers to potentially do a game or two in Austin during that time."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ In major move, Fort Worth Zoning Commission votes against data center restrictions (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

After a discussion that lasted more than two hours, the Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted 7-4 at its July 8 meeting to recommend denial of a sweeping and controversial proposal that would bring data centers into the city’s zoning code and establish development standards for them.

The proposed zoning rules are part of a larger package of rule changes aimed at protecting residents from the potential impact of data centers, while still ensuring the city can capture some of the economic benefit of new development. The Fort Worth City Council is expected to weigh both the zoning rules at its meeting on Aug. 11 after council members received a briefing on the proposal from Fort Worth Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern in June.

The proposed zoning rule changes include prohibiting cryptocurrency mining and changing certain development standards. Commissioners took issue with several aspects of the proposal, including that 250-foot setback, language that would allow data centers in all of Fort Worth’s industrial zoning districts, and considered whether it was simply too soon for them to make a sound decision. Several hours after the meeting began, as the sun began to sink toward the horizon, commissioner Jacob Wurman raised his hand for a point of order.

“We spent four months deliberating the Stockyards amendments, and we’re going to do this in five minutes,” Wurman said. “I do feel like we’re being asked to do this rather quickly … it just feels a little bit under the gun.” Commissioners weighed voting to continue the item to a later meeting to allow more time to process the information presented by McEachern and residents who spoke, but ultimately voted to deny recommending that the city council approve the proposal… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Trump declares Iran ceasefire 'over.' So what happens now? (Associated Press)

President Donald Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists that continued attacks do not mean a return to war or long-term action. The confusion and uncertainty in Trump’s mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions — which could spell problems for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high. Trump warned Wednesday that a new round of U.S. attacks was coming, even as he attempted to shrug off suggestions of a return to full-scale war. Hours later, the military announced it was carrying out new attacks on Iran that were meant to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said earlier. “We’re not looking for a long time.” A regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts said the conflict had reached a critical stage as mutual mistrust rises. But high-level communications are happening around the clock to salvage the ceasefire, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations… 🟪 (READ MORE)