On a vote of 7-2-2, City Council on Thursday approved on first reading a request for historic zoning for the property at 301 San Jacinto St. downtown. Council members Pio Renteria and Paige Ellis voted no and Greg Casar and Vanessa Fuentes were off the dais. Will Houston, the managing partner for the owner, initially […]
historic preservation
Official actions of a municipality such as the City of Austin taken to preserve structures with their jurisdiction. Preservation is often accompanied by a property tax exemption.
Posted inPreservation
Planning Commission rejects historic zoning for San Jacinto warehouse
The Planning Commission Tuesday voted against historic zoning for a former warehouse in downtown Austin, siding with the property owner who wants to demolish the building over preservationists seeking to save it. The case began last year when the Historic Landmark Commission halted a demolition permit for the circa-1912 warehouse at 301 San Jacinto Blvd., […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark commission experiments with new postponement tool
The Historic Landmark Commission is taking a fresh approach to resisting demolition, opting to indefinitely postpone several cases at its Nov. 15 meeting. After consulting with the city’s legal department, staffers recommended using the new tool in cases where applicants oppose historic zoning but are willing to negotiate alternatives to demolition. Commissioners elected to use […]
Posted inPreservation
How the Historic Landmark Commission works to preserve Austin’s history
The Historic Landmark Commission is an all-volunteer, 11-member board appointed by members of City Council. The commission reviews applications for heritage grants, considers historic designations, weighs the merits of tax exemption applications, and acts generally as an advocate for historic preservation in the city. The powers and authority of the landmark commission rest on one […]
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Can the Dry Creek Café be saved?
Austin realtor Sherry LeBlanc was devastated when she found out the Dry Creek Café & Boat Dock was set to close its doors on Oct. 31. The historic watering hole was “more of a community than a bar” for her and her husband, who bartends and books the live music. Longtime owner Jay “Buddy” Reynolds […]
Posted inCity Hall
Tovo eyes historic preservation funds for undisclosed property negotiations
The grant program that uses Hotel Occupancy Tax money to help improve historic sites could be put on hold for a year so the city could use its funding to purchase historic sites. At City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee meeting this week, Council Member Kathie Tovo said her objection earlier this year to approving […]
Posted inPreservation
Dilapidated Congress Avenue buildings move one step closer to reconstruction
After a yearslong saga, the owner of three run-down buildings at 907, 909 and 911 Congress Avenue will finally be able to reconstruct the buildings’ facades. On Sept. 14, the Planning Commission overruled a decision by the Historic Landmark Commission prohibiting facade reconstruction for 909 Congress, paving the way for all three buildings to be […]
Posted inPreservation
City postpones skate shop demolition
A groundswell of support for a beloved Austin skate shop did not fall upon unsympathetic ears at the Historic Landmark Commission. Austin Community College was seeking a permit to demolish No-Comply Skate Shop at 812 W. 12th St. to make way for a parking garage. The school needs permission from the city’s Historic Landmark Commission. […]
Posted inPreservation
‘This is sacred ground’: Austinites and researchers seek to restore Mexican American cemeteries in Montopolis
Sandwiched between private properties in southeastern Travis County sits a little-known cemetery off Hoeke Lane, just west of U.S. Highway 183. From the outside, there’s nothing that indicates the site is the final resting place for a number of Mexican and Mexican American residents who died decades ago. It’s a wilderness. The headstones, many of […]
Posted inPreservation
It’s not easy to replace a venue where Janis Joplin sang
Will the treasured spirit of the old Threadgill’s live on in a proposed multifamily development slated to replace the iconic restaurant and live music venue? That would be the preferred outcome of the Historic Landmark Commission, which unanimously recommended that the developer retain as much as possible of the structure’s exterior, in spite of the […]
Posted inPreservation
Landmark Commission votes against front-yard pool proposal
At last month’s meeting on March 22, the Historic Landmark Commission discussed a certificate of appropriateness application to modify the landscape, construct a terrace and build a swimming pool at the historic Jackson-Novy-Kelly-Hoey House at 2406 Harris Blvd. First recommended for historic zoning in 2009, the property has been home to “some of the most […]
Posted inPreservation
Demolition proposal receives pushback from Tarrytown residents, commission delays decision
A demolition request for a 1938 home received a surprising amount of pushback from community members at the Jan. 25 meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission. The home at 2803 Bonnie Road was first constructed for Frank D. and Ollie Lloyd, a couple who moved around Austin a few times throughout the 20th century. According […]