Almost two decades ago, the city of Austin launched a plan to revitalize the area around 11th and 12th streets in East Austin. Fast-forward to today, and East 11th has seen a boom of new businesses and housing, while East 12th hasn’t changed quite as much. As part of our On My Block project, looking […]
East Austin
East Austin is the quadrant of Austin that, generally speaking, is east of IH-35.
Posted inDevelopment
Planning Commission rejects waiver after conversation on racism
Remarks on how institutional racism influences the city’s historic preservation goals prompted the Planning Commission’s indecision to approve or reject a compatibility waiver for a 5-foot setback on the western side of 2724 E 12th St. during its Feb. 14 meeting. The application, made to accommodate site improvements to the multifamily Lofts at 12th Street […]
Posted inPreservation
Two adjacent East Austin streets, two tales of development
Danny Fowler stands in the middle of his driveway holding a vase full of red flowers. He is taking them to his neighbor, who lives just across the street, over the crest of the steep hill that cuts this East Austin cul-de-sac in two. The street, which begins as E.M. Franklin Avenue before morphing into […]
Posted inCity Council
Council approves resolution aimed at creating more Capitol View Corridors
City Council approved a resolution Thursday aimed at preserving “visual corridors” of the state Capitol in East Austin. Brought forward by Council Member Ora Houston – who in a prepared statement described the view of the Capitol that she grew up enjoying as both “magical” and increasingly endangered – the resolution does not impose any […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Just more fake news
Alt-facts… The national press has caught wind of Travis County’s skirmish with Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration policy, for better and worse. Reputable outlets such as CBS News and the Washington Post have deigned to talk to County Judge Sarah Eckhardt about the imbroglio that was sparked by Sheriff Sally Hernandez’s decision to no longer […]
Posted inPlanning
Waiver applicant pitches restrictive covenant with themselves
The Planning Commission voted 7-4 at its Dec. 13 meeting to postpone a decision on a compatibility waiver for a new multifamily residential development called the Lofts at 12th, located at 2724 East 12th St. The waiver would accommodate the five-story apartment complex by allowing the developer to scale down a 25-foot setback triggered by […]
Posted inPreservation
Survey finds a wealth of history in East Austin
At long last, the East Austin Historic Resources Survey is complete and ready for review. The survey covered the area of Austin east of Interstate 35, north of Lady Bird Lake, south of Manor Road and east of Pleasant Valley Road and the MetroRail line. Though some of the area was surveyed in 1984 and 2000, […]
Posted inLand Development Code
BoA shoots down East Austin variance cluster
At the Board of Adjustment’s most recent meeting, the specters of short-term rentals and the Jumpolin piñata store did no favors for a group seeking variances in East Austin. Chris French, who identified himself as the homeowner’s brother, explained that they were seeking variances for the property at 206 San Marcos St. He said the […]
Posted inCourts
Homeowners sue over neighbors’ rowdy parties
Tormented by loud, amplified music that lasted all night, drunken partygoers trespassing onto their property, cars blocking their driveway and “a parade of people coming to their door late at night ‘looking for the party,’” East Austin homeowners Christian Hartnett and Amanda Giffort filed suit against their neighbors. Judge Amy Clark Meachum on Friday granted […]
Posted inPreservation
New East Austin survey tells story of loss
To the uninformed, Shonda Mace looked like she was being a real creep. On a morning last March, the young woman loitered in front of a home on East 22nd Street. She eyed the house in front of her before snapping two photos of it. “I take a façade, which is the front of the […]
Posted inAustin
Festival hopes to begin new chapter at 12th and Chicon, with city help
Austin’s trolley cars, which retired in 1940, used to stop at East 12th and Chicon streets. It’s there that Ada Harden and her brother would hop on, pay the five-cent fee and ride with little concern about a destination. “We’d go to the end of it and turn around and come back,” said Harden. She […]
Posted inPlanning
East Austin’s boom: What to do? And how to do it?
As a first, necessary step toward addressing East Austin’s growth, the Planning Commission continues to look for a way to get a handle on the conversation about that growth. Commissioner Nuria Zaragoza, who sparked the latest discussion on the subject at last week’s Planning Commission meeting, explained that her agenda item was based on a […]