Piñata store fallout continues

Details, and stories, about the demolition of East Austin piñata store Jumpolin continued to emerge Wednesday. It is clear that a temporary use permit for a South by Southwest event was submitted to the city. It is clear that, as KXAN reported, crews en route to the demo ruptured a gas line. Also, the piñata store has been demolished, and a fairly comprehensive early report of the controversy is available on Culturemap Austin. But, overall, it soon became apparent that the case was a complicated one that Austinites saw as symbolic of the changing nature of the city. Over at the Burnt Orange Report, Katherine Haenschen pointed to the denial of a parking variance as the root cause of the demolition. On Saturday, KUT reported that the building’s owner, Jordan French, “plans to ‘rent the existing commercial space to a green-conscious non-profit or a low-impact consulting firm.’ He also said that the shop owners received eviction notices in ‘October, December (twice) and January.'” As for what is happening now at 1401 East Cesar Chavez, last night the Austin American-Statesman reported that the store owners had filed a lawsuit against the building owners.