Austin is the first city in the country to get a funding boost through a new accelerator program from the short-term rental company Airbnb.
Council Member José “Chito” Vela said the $6.4 million will support the St. Johns redevelopment project in North Austin where the city is building a 19-acre mixed-use property. The project will include more than 500 housing units, some of which will be considered affordable.
Vela said Airbnb’s investment will help fill a multimillion-dollar funding gap. The company launched its accelerator program on Monday, committing $250 million across the country to what it’s calling “last-dollar financing.”
Brian Chesky, cofounder and CEO of Airbnb, said it’s aimed at filling a gap for projects that hit financial snags.
“There’s about 750,000 homes or housing developments that are about to be built, but they need last-dollar funding. And if they got their last-dollar funding, then those 750,000 units would be built,” Chesky said.
Michael Minasi
/
KUT News
From the left, Thelma Williams, Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former mayor of Baltimore, participate in a discussion about housing in Austin, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Austin Central Library.
The boost in funding comes as Austin continues to work toward its affordable housing goals. In 2017, the city set a goal of building 135,000 new apartments over 10 years with about half of them set aside for families earning no more than $65,000 a year.
Vela said this will help the city move in the right direction.
“In so many projects that we see out there, there is some kind of gap that is keeping the ground from breaking and keeping construction from starting,” Vela said. “So I think this kind of deal-closing fund for affordable housing is a phenomenal idea.”
He said Airbnb won’t receive any incentives or deals from the city as part of this program. Last year, the city adopted stronger rules for people who operate short-term rentals in Austin. Those regulations will remain in place.
Vela hopes the program will foster partnership and better relationships with companies like Airbnb.
“The city can’t do this on our own,” Vela said. “We need our business partners, our affordable housing partners and our philanthropic partners.”
Longtime St. Johns resident Thelma Williams said it’s time to invest in the community and create more options for young families.
“Because young people are really struggling to have affordable houses so that they can be all that they can be,” Williams said.
Construction on the St. Johns project began earlier this summer and is expected to be complete by 2028.
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