Development

Austin Transit Partnership officials released their preferred plan Tuesday for the city's light rail network, recommending an on-street, 9.8-mile route that would connect North and South Austin from West 38th to Oltorf streets and run southeast to near Ben White Boulevard.

Driving the news: The final recommendation comes after the local government corporation narrowed their plans to five light rail options in March. Officials said they made the decision after receiving more than 5,000 public comments and holding 90 community meetings.

Cellphone use in downtown Austin is about half of what it was pre-pandemic.

The big picture: It's the latest sign of how the core part of the city remains a lighter version of itself, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng report.

IBM will move its Austin workforce into a new, 500,000-square-foot office development in North Austin by 2027, the company is announcing today.

Why it matters: The announcement comes two days after CEO Arvind Krishna's acknowledgement that IBM plans to replace jobs with AI and as tech industry downsizing has led companies to pull back on leasing office spaces.