The Austin City Council has stymied a developer’s plans for a century-old East Austin building, voting to deny the owner’s application for a demolition permit and supporting historic zoning for the site instead.
Owner and real estate developer Eureka Holdings applied for a demolition permit for the structure at 1500 East 12th Street in July, triggering a city requirement that the commission consider its historic value before signing off. The city’s Preservation Office recommended initiating historic zoning of the building at the northeast corner of East 12th and Comal Streets rather than supporting its demolition.
The storefront has been a German grocery and beer hall as well as a Black barbershop and music venue. It’s also near the I.Q. Hurdle House and Southgate-Lewis House, two similarly storied structures that contribute to preserving the physical history of the corner. City preservation staff cited both as factors in its recommendation, maintaining that the building is an important part of the street’s historic fabric.
Eureka purchased the building in 2016 and has received a number of code-enforcement citations for a lack of maintenance. The developer maintains that the property could be used more productively if the building were demolished but has not made public any plans for the site.
The Dallas-based company, which has amassed a huge portfolio on East 12th Street and in surrounding communities over the past several years, has drawn ire and frustration from some neighbors for failing to redevelop and neglecting its properties, code violations, unpermitted construction, failure to maintain its sites and structures, and using placeholder LP names.
Approval of the rezoning, which the city's Historic Landmark Commission and Planning Commission both signed off on, required a supermajority City Council vote due to the owner’s opposition. The council voted 9-2 in favor of the historic designation, with members Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis voting against it.
