Condemned homes get a stay of demolition at landmark commission 

In an effort to sort out the complicated details, Historic Landmark Commission members have unanimously supported a delay on demolishing two East Austin homes that are both historic and condemned.

Both homes, which were built around 1916, are Hofheinz houses, a distinct folk architecture style built in Austin and rented to working-class East Austin families by Edmund and Oscar Hofheinz. The city’s preservation office estimates that there were possibly 24 such homes in 2019, though several have been demolished since then. Both homes also have accessory dwelling units, built in the 1940s by the Hofheinz brothers, though those are not considered as significant. Staff has found that the homes could be considered landmarks, which would prevent their demolition, based on their architectural significance and historical associations.

However, the homes at 1702 and 1704 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. are in a state of such disrepair that they have been condemned by the city. Because of the state of the homes, a different city department is poised to tear them down and put a lien on the properties. The owner would like to prevent that from happening and demolish the buildings themselves in order to comply with the Building and Standards Commission and Austin Code and avoid further fines.

Aisha Gooden Williams explained that the homes had been in her family for 50 years, after they were passed down to her grandmother, who was a maid for Hofheinz family. Until recently, she said, her 95-year-old grandfather had been trying to manage the properties, which have been vacant (aside from squatters) for six or seven years.

Williams told commissioners that, though she was seeking a demolition permit, she didn’t relish tearing down the homes and, as a child, she would go to the Hofheinzes’ graves and clean them off each month.

“For them to give a maid as many homes as they gave her, it was for a reason,” Williams said. “My grandmother was the only Black employee that (Mrs. Hofheinz) had.”

“I respect what you guys are doing,” Williams said. “But also, I hope that y’all would respect the legacy that I’m trying to leave for my family. We’re not these big investors that are trying to come in and just tear down everything and make the east side look totally different. But, also, I’m trying to leave a legacy for my family by actually building on this property right here.”

Williams said that she would like to work with the commission in the future to talk about preservation of some of her family’s other 34 properties, which include other Hofheinz houses. 

She noted that the University of Texas had purchased the next block over and tore down all of the Hofheinz homes there two months later, but she was denied a demolition permit in 2017. She questioned why her family was held to a different standard.

“We don’t pay over $300,000 in property taxes to say that we don’t want to be in East Austin,” she said. “I could have sold all of this a long time ago.” 

Chair Ben Heimsath seemed amenable to that idea moving forward and expressed regret that such conversations had not taken place already.

“There are many resources that we probably are long overdue to be sharing with you and your family,” he said. “I’m afraid that, as an effort, Preservation has not done everything it could to connect with the histories and the families that also have an interest in maintaining legacies.”

Heimsath said that, from his perspective, there had been action from one department in the city that was completely contrary to the priorities of current preservation initiatives, which are focused on equity. He apologized that the owners had experienced that disconnect and hoped there was a path to preservation without putting an additional burden on the family. 

Meghan King, with Preservation Austin, told the commissioners they were opposed to the demolition of the home, though they were sensitive to the family’s situation. 

“It’s our official position, and we feel strongly that the homes in East Austin and of its Black and brown residents in particular should be preserved and that that legacy should be honored,” King said. “Our city hasn’t done that enough in the past and we really need to keep up pace because they are just flying away from us, basically.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to support Commissioner Kevin Koch’s motion to postpone the case until their July meeting, which will give its architectural review committee time to review the situation in more depth.

“I think this is just too complex a case right now, with a lot of potential for win-win situations for both the applicant and the city,” Koch said. “I just think we need another month to discuss this.”

Heimsath asked that no additional city fees accrue while the case is under consideration by the commission and, if there is not a way to do that, said they should work with City Council to ensure that policy changes in the future “immediately.”

Colton Santmyer, who is a demolition contractor with Texas Tear Down and is working with Williams, explained that the homes had been vacant, vandalized and the subject of a “litany” of police reports over the past decade.

“We just don’t feel like the feasibility is there to restore them in their current state,” said Santmyer, who added that he did not think the houses were candidates for relocation either, as the structural integrity had been compromised. “They’ve fallen into a state of disrepair. … Rehabilitating these two 600-square-foot, derelict structures does not seem an appropriate way to take care of this.

“It would be as respectful as a demolition can be,” he added.

The Historic Landmark Commission has until Aug. 19 to make a decision on the demolition permit.

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Posted In: Preservation, District 1