City Council has accepted a rise in constructing top for a portion of the East Sixth Street leisure district that has been focused for redevelopment by a Dallas-based actual property agency.

The ordinance amendment accepted Thursday after a public listening to will permit buildings on the five hundred and 600 blocks of East Sixth Street – the stretch between Neches and Sabine streets – to succeed in a most of 140 toes in top, or regardless of the limits of state Capitol View Corridor legal guidelines will permit.

The enhance from the long-standing 45-foot top restrict within the largely historic leisure district will permit Stream Realty to maneuver ahead with plans to erect an workplace constructing and a boutique resort on a handful of the roughly 40 properties the corporate has acquired over the previous 5 years.

Council initiated the change final June, with the Historic Landmark Commission giving its approval for the brand new development if three necessities are met: the primary 15 toes of historic facades are retained, with new development recessed behind these facades; a certificates of appropriateness is granted for development on traditionally important buildings; and consideration be given to inserting tax caps on legacy companies that might be displaced by the rise in property values anticipated because the district is improved.

Stream’s plans for the district symbolize probably the most cohesive and prolonged effort to rework one of many foremost arteries of downtown Austin, which for many years has been often called a nightlife middle due to its excessive focus of shot bars amid a handful of music and leisure venues.

Along with the taller buildings which are anticipated to generate robust leasing income, Stream’s leaders count on the folks occupying these buildings throughout daytime hours to deliver new enterprise to the numerous different storefronts the corporate plans to remake as a mixture of hospitality and leisure companies.

Speaking to the Historic Landmark Commission final 12 months, Stream legal professional Richard Suttle mentioned the combo of retail, eating places and inventive areas would remake the district as “what Sixth Street used to be, where you could actually go down and have a meal and see a show, or listen to live music.”

After the approval, Suttle advised the Austin Monitor through textual content, “The future of (Sixth) Street as we once knew it just got a lot brighter. We can now look forward to a safe and lively (Sixth Street) with 24/7 activity. The good kind. The action today enables the planning of a mix of music venues (and) restaurants along with other beneficial uses that will bring back the vibrancy of our signature street.”

While remaking the district colloquially often called “Dirty Sixth” has lengthy been a aim of civic and enterprise leaders, that effort took on extra urgency after a string of shootings occurred over a number of weekends in the summertime of 2021. One of these shootings resulted within the demise of vacationer Doug Kantor, with 13 different folks injured.

Council Member Zo Qadri, whose district contains the Sixth Street and Red River nightlife districts, praised the peak change and mentioned his workplace will work with present companies to stop the displacement of music venues and different cultural entities by greater rents as the realm turns into extra enticing for improvement.

“This ordinance has a promise of renewing the most famous and most historic quarter in Austin,” he mentioned. “It will unlock opportunities to bring more kinds of uses to what is now a strip of mostly shot bars that sit idle throughout most hours of the day. It will also preserve the historic look and feel of the street, while restoring the mix of businesses and attractions that once made Sixth Street a vibrant and bustling district for people of all ages and backgrounds.”

Qadri added, “I also want to acknowledge the Red River Cultural District’s valid concerns around increasing development pressures that face our treasured venues and local businesses in this part of downtown. My office is committed to working with all stakeholders to find comprehensive solutions that protect our live music culture and promote a welcoming downtown for all Austinites.”

Photo by vxla, CC BY 2.0, through Wikimedia Commons.

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Posted In: Planning, District 9