Looking at the lodge structure’s current condition from the corner of Lavaca and West Seventh Street. You can see a bit of the existing parking garage that surrounds the building on its southern and western sides from this perspective. Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
A roughly 30-story tower project could soon rise from a historic Masonic lodge building in downtown Austin, according to a collection of planning documents filed in preparation for tonight’s meeting of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission.
The documents, part of a certificate of appropriateness application filed with the commission by local architects Brett Rhode of Rhode Partners and Emily Little of Clayton & Little, present details of a renovation and tower development planned for the Royal Arch Masonic Lodge at 311 West Seventh Street, a 1926 Beaux Arts-style structure granted historic landmark designation by the city in 2000 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Documents for the project, which also name firms Stone Development Group and DCI Engineers, present plans for an extensive restoration of the existing three-story historic building, with a new tower structure rising from it. The tower addition is stated as containing “25 to 30” stories in a few of these documents, but also “30+” stories in at least one other description — so it seems the exact height might still be “up in the air,” if you’ll pardon the groaner. That unknown height figure is played out in the renderings included in these documents, which give us a first look at the tower and its orientation without actually showing the new building’s top.
The addition is set back and separated vertically from the facade of the historic lodge by a three-story “atrium” structure, likely in an effort to avoid overwhelming the original architecture of the building, which is already hemmed in on its western and southern sides by a parking garage:
An image of the restored lodge structure and its new tower component, looking southwest at the corner of West Seventh and Lavaca Street from this perspective. The new garage entrance accessed from Lavaca Street and bound for the building’s eastern elevation is visible on the left side of the original building in this image. Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
Looking eastward from West Seventh Street, with the restored lodge and a small portion of its new tower visible. Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
Looking roughly north up Lavaca Street at the project’s new garage entrance and a small portion of the tower. The distance between the old and new buildings is clear from this perspective. Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
Though we don’t yet know if the tower will contain office or residential uses, the developer’s application to the commission provides significant information on the project’s design, along with the restoration of the original structure.
The applicant proposes to construct a 30+ story tower to the existing historic building. The proposed tower addition will be almost square in shape and will be set back approximately 3 feet from the street-side parapets of the existing building. The tower will be sheathed in a glass curtain wall that will be lightly tinted and lightly reflective, and will have as its base a 3-story structure referred to as the atrium; the atrium is approximately 32 feet tall and will be narrower than the tower, and will be set back approximately 13 feet from the north wall of the building and approximately 20 feet from the Lavaca Street (east) wall of the building.
To construct the tower addition, the applicant proposes to remove the roof and elevator penthouse of the existing building. The applicant has proposed bracing the existing walls during construction with an independent engineered structural system. Following completion of the tower addition, the existing building walls will be laterally supported by the new structure. A new opening on the south end of the east wall (facing 7th Street) is proposed for vehicular access to the building. The proposed new opening will be trimmed in sawn limestone similar to the existing trim on the building, but in a simpler pattern.
The applicant further proposes repairs and restoration of the existing building, including cleaning and repointing all masonry, repairing damaged masonry, cleaning and repairing stone trim and decorative elements on the building, restoration of the original metal awning on the north elevation, and the restoration of existing windows and exterior doors. Interior elements of the building will be salvaged for re-use in the structure, and a new accessible route will be constructed.
— Historic Landmark Commission Certificate of Appropriateness Application, June 24, 2019
Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
However, some details on its site plan seem to imply a residential use for the building — how many office buildings do you know with a car elevator? You can see this feature near the parking entrance on Lavaca Street labeled “parking lifts” in the image below, so if this is an office building, it’s certainly an interesting one.
Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
Though we won’t know for sure until tonight, there’s a strong chance the project will receive the Historic Landmark Commission’s approval at its meeting this evening — it appears the committee had previously requested the architects alter the design of the new tower slightly to make it “lighter” and more set back from the historic structure below it, changes that seem to have already taken place judging by the distance between the old and new structures visible in the renderings seen above. Here’s the staff recommendation for the tower item, up for a vote tonight:
Approve as proposed. The proposed addition is very large, but the applicant has taken great care and sensitivity to design the tower so as not to destroy the integrity of the building and has provided a comprehensive plan for protecting the historic building during construction of the tower addition.
— Historic Landmark Commission Certificate of Appropriateness Application, June 24, 2019
We’ll update this article once we know whether the item has passed the commission, but for the time being, it’s certainly a pleasure to see some creative infill playing nice with such a historic structure while bringing density to a growing corner of downtown. The project’s site is only one block west of the Indeed Tower / Block 71 development currently under construction, and one block east of the 6 x Guadalupe site which should eventually become Austin’s tallest tower.
A view of the eastern side of the lodge structure from Lavaca Street, where a new parking entrance is planned. The future of the Fallout Theater, a comedy club currently operating out of the building’s basement, is unknown at the moment. Image: Clayton & Little / Rhode Partners / Stone Development Partners / DCI Engineers
And hey, that might have something to do with why the developer’s keeping the exact floor count of this project under wraps for now — with so much going on around you, why show anyone your cards this early? Still, it’s worth noting the lodge site is unconstrained by Capitol View Corridors, meaning we could get serious height here if someone felt like building it. All the more reason to subscribe to our newsletter!
UPDATE: Despite the staff recommendation for approval, the commission still has some standing issues with the design and construction of this project — including concerns that the preservation of the lodge building’s facade, but little of its interior, would harm the integrity of its overall historic character. Though the project has a ways to go, at this early stage the commission voted to postpone the certificate of appropriateness application for the development, citing these concerns as well as a lack of information on the proposed building.
One of the problems the commission raised is something we noticed as well — there’s no rendering showing the actual complete height of the tower addition, and no architectural drawing that shows a cross-section of its interior. The developers will have to return to a later meeting with more details of the project, and possibly consider modifications to the new tower that would better compliment the scale and design of the historic building. It’s a bit of a disappointment for such an ambitious design, but we’re confident this concept can be tweaked to please (almost) everyone. Stay tuned!
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