The people of the Rosedale neighborhood have something special, and the old Rosedale School is part of it. These stories detail the struggle to prevent overdevelopment at the site, and to find an alternative that better fits the neighborhood, its people, and Austin as a whole
Build ‘missing middle’ density with a variety of home styles, not a monolith The old Rosedale School site is a community resource that presents an opportunity—not merely to build housing, but to strengthen and diversify a living neighborhood. While current attention centers on a monolithic 435-unit luxury apartment complex and Read more
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 Read more
Austin City Council considers Rosedale School rezoning Thursday, May 21 Austin’s City Council will vote on the Austin school district’s rezoning application for the Rosedale Elementary School this Thursday, May 21. The public meeting is at Austin City Hall (301 W. Second St.) and the Rosedale case is agenda item Read more
Austin’s analysis underestimates impact on neighborhood streets, say experts When done right, developments plan for the additional traffic they’ll create, and minimize its impact on existing neighborhood streets. The proposed Rosedale School redevelopment fails on both counts. Who says so? We do. We are Kathy Fretwell and Scott Morledge, and Read more
Austin Chronicle City Hall Reporter Brant Bingamon published an excellent article today (May 7) on the battle over the future of the original Rosedale Elementary School campus, including neighborhood work to create a compromise development plan. Take a few minutes to read the story.
Two civic associations representing Austin’s Rosedale neighborhood issued a joint letter May 1 embracing development on the grounds of a former school, but opposing the construction of a 435 luxury apartments there. The letter was signed by 39 members of the groups – the Rosedale Neighborhood Association and Play Fair Read more
Play Fair With Rosedale leaders organized a tour Monday of a 70-unit development of an affordable housing project that the neighborhood has welcomed and continues to support. Ovetta Rosedale, 4202-4210 Medical Parkway, is a mixed-income affordable family housing community now under construction, with occupancy expected some time this winter. When Read more
When Austin city staff were asked to explain why they recommended rezoning the old Rosedale School site to allow 435 high-density apartments, they cited six recent “comparable” rezoning cases that boosted residential density. Each sailed through the city council in 2025 on unanimous votes. On closer examination, the comps are Read more
Development plans go from neighborhood-friendly to ‘Death Star’ Change is fast approaching for the old Rosedale School site, a prime 4.6 acre piece of Austin real estate surrounded on three sides by small single family homes. After eight decades as a school, the site at Rosedale Avenue and 49th Street Read more
With a wave of a piece of paper, the old Rosedale School property survived the first attempt to sell it off. But what worked in 1981 may not work now. Legal covenants that shielded the 87 year-old school site from development as anything other than a school or single-family residences Read more