Nine of 11 City Council members voted last week to deny city historic landmark status to the clearly historic Westgate Tower at 1122 Colorado, on a motion by Council Member Zo Qadri, whose District 9 includes the building. Council Member Alison Alter opposed the motion and Council Member Mackenzie Kelly abstained. The 25-story residential building, […]
Preservation
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Permit to relocate home prevails over proposal to renovate
The Historic Landmark Commission voted unanimously at its regular meeting Jan. 11 to permit the relocation of a house at 2203 E. Cesar Chavez St., which was initially proposed for reuse and rehabilitation. The owner of the property, Myung Lemond, was a major contributor to this decision. Her request to relocate the house rather than attempt to […]
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Report: ADU expansion, tax relief among city’s options to promote preservation
Preservation advocates want the city to simplify the process for building accessory dwelling units, and use an ombudsman position to help navigate city processes as some of the steps needed to save existing housing stock while helping to address affordability. Those were some of the conclusions in a recent paper from Urban Land Institute Austin […]
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Travis Heights residents put up a fight to preserve century-old fourplex
The Historic Landmark Commission kicked off 2023 with a bang last Wednesday, with nearly a dozen Travis Heights residents taking the stand to oppose demolition of a century-old home on the corner of East Monroe Street and Newning Avenue. The house at 409 E. Monroe St., which has been a rental fourplex since the 1930s, […]
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Westgate tower takes step toward historic zoning
City Council gave first reading approval to historic zoning for the Westgate Tower at 1122 Colorado St. as part of the zoning consent agenda on Thursday. The Westgate, a physical landmark between the Capitol and University Tower, is considered an excellent example of New Formalism. It has been the home of numerous politicians and lobbyists […]
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Planning Commission fails to recommend historic zoning for downtown tower
The Planning Commission did not have enough votes last Tuesday to recommend historic zoning for the Westgate Tower at 1122 Colorado St., as some members of the commission challenged the idea of giving tax breaks to downtown condo owners. Commissioners agreed with city staffers and the Historic Landmark Commission that the New Formalist-style tower, built […]
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Unpermitted demolition stokes existential crisis at Historic Landmark Commission
Frustration was palpable at last week’s meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission, with yet another unpermitted demolition garnering little fanfare outside the Historic Preservation Office. The vacant lot at 4008 N. Lamar, once home to a 1926 residence converted for commercial use, was reportedly demolished this spring. According to property representative Todd Cruz, the demolition […]
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Landmark commission makes no exceptions for sign standards on Congress Avenue
Austin-based health care provider Curative will have to rethink its storefront design thanks to the Historic Landmark Commission, which unanimously voted last week to reject signage for the startup’s flagship clinic on Congress Avenue. The rejected proposal would have rendered Curative’s logo in 72 square feet of halo-lit white vinyl lettering on the lowermost facade […]
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Fairmont Hotel financiers take a second shot at historic home relocation
After six years of thwarted negotiations, Manchester Financial Group is still eyeing 606 and 608 E. Third St., a site just blocks from the Austin Convention Center and dead center of downtown’s burgeoning Palm District. But first, the Fairmont Hotel financiers will have to face the Historic Landmark Commission, which is determined to salvage the […]
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Effort to save lakefront estate from demolition divides Planning Commission
The Planning Commission was split Tuesday on whether to help save an eclectic lakefront estate from demolition by zoning it historic amid concerns over tax breaks and the likelihood that a previous owner participated in segregation as a business owner. The property in question, known as the Delisle House, is located at 2002 Scenic Drive in […]
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Landmark commission OKs Stenger demolition
An A.D. Stenger-designed home in South Austin is headed for demolition with the unanimous consent of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission. Normally, this would be an unusual move by the city commission entrusted with evaluating the city’s historic buildings. However, changes to the building in the 1990s and resistance to historic preservation by the owner […]
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Castleman-Bull house resolution OK’d with changes
City Council approved a resolution from Council Member Kathie Tovo last week directing City Manager Spencer Cronk to study questions about restoring the interior of the historic Castleman-Bull House, which has sat vacant since the Austin Convention Center acquired and moved it to its current location at 201 Red River St. The building has sat […]