The Austin City Council has agreed to postpone until September a controversial proposal to rezone the old Rosedale School to allow construction of a massive luxury apartment complex.
The rezoning case had been scheduled for Thursday, May 21. It has been tentatively rescheduled for the council’s Sept. 10 meeting.
Play Fair With Rosedale received multiple confirmations that Austin City Council will postpone a vote on the rezoning application until September. Play Fair representatives had been meeting for the past week with council members and their staffs, lobbying against the rezoning, and asking for a delay.
That delay has now been granted. So if you signed up to speak at the May 21 meeting, you do not need to attend. The vote will be on the postponement, which we are now confident will be approved.
This is a huge victory that creates space for Rosedale and the Austin Independent School District to find a compromise, one that could result in a less-dense development.
What’s at stake
The dispute is over the size and nature of the development at the now-vacant, 4.62 acre site, which operated as a school from 1939 to 2022.
After the school closed, the district held lengthy discussions with the Rosedale neighborhood about the fate of the property. During those discussions, district staff scoffed at the idea of selling to the highest bidder, vowed to keep the site in public hands, and eventually settled on a plan for teacher-friendly housing. But in 2025, faced with a budget deficit, the cash-strapped school district backtracked. Instead, it signed a $26 million contract to sell the property to OHT Properties, an Austin developer.
OHT wants to build a six-story, 435-unit luxury apartment complex on the land. To complete the deal and get its money, the district must change the zoning from single-family (SF-3). City staff recommended the change to high-density multifamily (MF-6-CO). The neighborhood association and Play Fair With Rosedale have formally objected to the rezoning and to OHT’s plans.
The neighborhood groups have labeled the proposal as massively incompatible with the surrounding single-family cottage homes, and want something less dense and more focused on affordable housing.
Discussions could pave the way to settle a lawsuit that AISD has filed against 125 Rosedale residents over deed restrictions that govern the land’s use. The lawsuit is the second battle front between the district and Rosedale residents. A compromise would also put money in the district’s hands sooner.
Thanks, and stay informed
Thanks to everyone who signed up to speak before the council, signed petitions, wrote letters, met with council offices, posted yard signs, devised the alternate development concept, donated to the defense fund, delivered fliers, and helped in so many other ways to raise awareness on how wrong the OHT Partners development would be.
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