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Real Estate Acquisition Information

Major public transportation projects like Austin Light Rail Phase 1 sometimes require the acquisition of private property.

When such acquisitions are necessary, Austin Transit Partnership will follow all local, state, and federal laws and regulations while working with property owners to address their unique needs, minimize hardships, and answer questions.

While we are early in evaluating the proposed Austin Light Rail Phase 1 transitway under the environmental review process, project development is ongoing, and we will reach out to potentially affected property owners to introduce the program team and talk about what is being proposed in their area.

The timeline and details will be different for each property owner, with many conversations along the way, but the process will be similar overall. These early conversations will help ATP with the planning and evaluation of the proposed project.

ATP is committed to proactive outreach to property owners about projects proposed as part of the Austin Light Rail Phase 1 system plan. These community outreach efforts provide the public with opportunities to review project plans and provide comments through a variety of events, including meetings with property owners, working groups, and community groups.

For more information about your rights as a property owner in the case of proposed acquisition, please consult the following additional documents:

Right of Way & Real Estate Acquisition FAQs

When will ATP know if a property needs to be acquired for the project?

Whether or not property is needed for a project is determined through the environmental planning process. During this process, various project alternatives and design options are evaluated. Generally, properties that need to be acquired are not determined until the very end of the process, after a public comment period, when the environmental study is approved through the Record of Decision.

How does the acquisition process work?

When property needs to be acquired for a public use, the following process occurs:

A surveyor, working on behalf of Austin Light Rail Phase 1, conducts an on-site survey of the property required for the project, develops a legal description and survey drawing of the acquisition area, which could be permanent or temporary.
The survey is provided to an independent professional real estate appraiser. The appraiser will send a written request to the property owner to accompany them on their site visit. The appraiser will visit the property and provide ATP with an opinion of value based on the acquisition area and impacts to the remainder (if any) with information that includes how they arrived at their amount.
The appraisal is used to determine the amount of just compensation for the property to be acquired. ATP will then work closely with landowners to acquire the necessary property rights. Please see Acquisition Flow Chart for the detailed acquisition process.
There will be instances where only temporary rights are needed to accommodate construction activities. In those cases, ATP will seek to acquire a temporary easement and once the timeframe indicated in the easement expires, the rights acquired will terminate and full use of the property will be returned to the property owner.

When will acquisitions of property begin?

Generally, a property will only be acquired after the environmental process is complete, although there are some permitted exceptions to this, and preliminary activities may commence during the environmental process.

What are you doing to help individuals and businesses who have potentially affected properties?

In addition to the just compensation (described above) offered for any real estate to be acquired from property owners, Relocation Advisory Services for owner-occupants and tenants will be available for eligible individuals, families, businesses (including farms) and nonprofit organizations who are displaced due to a property acquisition.

ATP is committed to preserving the vibrant and unique communities of Austin. Part of this important goal is to work directly with people along the Austin Light Rail Phase 1 corridors to ensure they are provided an opportunity to actively shape this transformative transit plan. Currently, there are ongoing discussions about how ATP can mitigate some of the potential impacts this project will have on Austin residents and businesses.

How do I get in touch with ATP?

If you have received a letter about your property or have questions about potential impacts along the Austin Light Rail Phase 1 corridors, we encourage you to reach out to us by email at input@atptx.org or by phone at 512-710-2100.

For questions related to Project Connect bus lines please contact CapMetro at Feedback@capmetro.org or 512-474-1200.