• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

TOWERS

Austin city life since 2007.

  • News
    • Condo Projects
    • Neighborhoods
  • Listings
    • Austin Condo Guide
  • Newsletter
Search
You are here: Home / News / Demolition Applications Could Signal Two New Towers in Downtown Austin
Search suggestions: condos for sale • rainey street

Demolition Applications Could Signal Two New Towers in Downtown Austin

James Rambin January 13, 2022 Comment

Image: Trinity Hall / 6Street.com / Photo by Jerry Hays

A list of demolition applications under review for consideration at the upcoming January 24 meeting of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission tells the story of two possible new tower developments headed for downtown Austin, if you look closely — actually, the clues are incredibly obvious. Let’s take a peek for ourselves:

307 – 311 East Fifth Street

The first application would demolish an approximately 0.41-acre assembly of adjacent properties at 307 and 311 East Fifth Street, which adds up to a full downtown quarter-block at the southeast corner of East Fifth and Trinity Streets — sharing an intersection with both Brush Square and the promising future tower site that recently changed hands at Avenue Lofts, not to mention everything else planned in this attractively transit and convention center-adjacent district of downtown.

The consecutive properties are both owned by large downtown investors the Finley Company, the 307 address currently occupied by quirky Slavic eatery Russian House and the 311 address at the corner most recently housing the now-closed Trinity Hall event venue. No details are available at the moment regarding what’s in store for this corner, but considering the location, size, value of the land, and lack of any Capitol View Corridor constraints over the site, it’s a prime location for tower development. We do hope Russian House finds a new home in town, however — that menu is crazy.

Image: Aaron Anderer / Flickr Creative Commons

1700 – 1704 Lavaca Street

The second demolition permit would clear the northwest corner of West 17th and Lavaca Streets, an address currently occupied by the “Uptown” location of local Tex-Mex chain El Mercado, along with a small office space. This site — unconstrained by Capitol View Corridors or the Capitol Dominance Overlay that limits the scale of buildings just a few blocks closer to downtown’s favorite dome — is still owned by the partnership of Austin restauranteur Gerald Stone and El Mercado owners Tony and Denise Villegas, but it appears a redevelopment of the site is on deck, leaving the future of the restaurant uncertain.

It’s worth noting that the demolition doesn’t seem to include the former Women and Their Work gallery space next door directly to the north at 1710 Lavaca Street — combining this site with the El Mercado corner would give developers a full quarter-block to work with, but without it the tract proposed for demolition only adds up to 0.28 acres. That’s still enough for a tower, but we wouldn’t rule out more development further up the block.

Since the Lavaca and East Fifth Street sites are both more than 50 years old, the Historic Landmark Commission needs to review each of their demolition applications — but as far as we can tell, neither site contains historic merit and will likely not encounter much resistance, though you never know! By our basic research, the 307 and 311 East Fifth Street sites were home to various auto parts stores, garages, and car dealerships, with the 307 property eventually operating as a wholesale furniture warehouse in the 1970s and finally used as art gallery space from the 1980s to the 2000s, with the Russian House restaurant opening in 2012. The 311 address operated as nightclub Paradox from the mid-1990s to 2008, with the event venue opening around 2015 after a brief run as Rival’s Steakhouse.

A chili recipe submitted to a cookbook published by Jorge’s Uptown Enchilada Bar, which opened in 1978 at the current location of El Mercado Uptown. Image: S.P.I. Books / Corinne Katz

The past of 1700 – 1704 Lavaca Street also doesn’t appear to qualify for historic status, though it still gives us the interesting photo seen below — in the early 1900s the corner was home to Haenel’s One Price Cash Store, run by German immigrants Emil and Mary Haenel and selling groceries, farming needs, and other homewares. Various other retail operations occupied the site, including another storied Tex-Mex eatery Jorge’s Uptown Enchilada Bar from 1978 until El Mercado took over in 1996.

Haenel’s store at the corner of West 17th and Lavaca Street now occupied by El Mercado Uptown, as seen in the early 1900s. Image: Austin History Center

Though this info is interesting enough on its own, we’ll have to wait until the HLC meeting later this month to find out more, as there’s no indication of which developers are involved or even what’s in store for either site. Still, it’s evidence that downtown Austin’s growth machine isn’t slowing down in 2022, not that anyone thought it would — there’s still a few spots around here that could get a lot taller.

Related

Filed Under: News Tagged With: 78701, city life, development, historic preservation, history, towers

About James Rambin

James is an Austin native, but tries not to brag about it. Email him anything at james@towers.net.

48 SE East Avenue #2508
Austin, TX
Photo of 48 SE East Avenue #2508, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 8722079)
$865,000
33
  • Lot Size
    66 sqft

  • Home Size
    803 sqft

  • Beds
    1 Bed

  • Baths
    1 Bath

View Virtual Tour
Previous Post: « Turning a Corner at 415 Colorado
Next Post: Here’s How Austin’s Mexican American Cultural Center Plans To Double in Size »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  •  Schedule a showing

Featured Buildings

  • 360 Condos
  • Austin City Lofts
  • The Independent
  • The Shore Condos
  • 70 Rainey

FEATURED Listings

5924 S Congress Avenue #12
Austin, TX
Photo of 5924 S Congress Avenue #12, Austin, TX 78745 (MLS # 8592590)
$599,000
37
  • Lot Size

  • Home Size
    1,608 sqft

  • Beds
    3 Beds

  • Baths
    4 Baths

View Virtual Tour
70 Rainey Street #1408
Austin, TX
Photo of 70  Rainey Street #1408, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 2400059)
$1,995,000
39
  • Lot Size

  • Home Size
    1,434 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

View Virtual Tour
360 Nueces Street #1216
Austin, TX
Photo of 360  Nueces Street #1216, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 6124051)
$875,000
36
  • Lot Size
    131 sqft

  • Home Size
    1,117 sqft

  • Beds
    2 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

View Virtual Tour
1700 Ullrich Avenue
Austin, TX
Photo of 1700  Ullrich Avenue, Austin, TX 78756 (MLS # 6581028)
$695,170
27
  • Lot Size
    6,709 sqft

  • Home Size
    1,066 sqft

  • Beds
    3 Beds

  • Baths
    2 Baths

3205 Holton Street
Austin, TX
Photo of 3205  Holton Street, Austin, TX 78702 (MLS # 2917084)
$1,850,000
34
  • Lot Size
    7,062 sqft

  • Home Size
    2,571 sqft

  • Beds
    4 Beds

  • Baths
    4 Baths

48 East Avenue #1608
Austin, TX
Photo of 48  East Avenue #1608, Austin, TX 78701 (MLS # 9928914)
$825,000
10
  • Lot Size
    17,904 sqft

  • Home Size
    803 sqft

  • Beds
    1 Bed

  • Baths
    1 Bath

austin condo report

Footer

LEGAL NOTICE

TREC Information About Brokerage Services (pdf)

Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice


TOWERS realty

Austin Condos For Sale

Agents

Downtown Buildings

Luxury Towers

  • Four Seasons Residences
  • W Hotel & Residences
  • The Austonian
  • 5 Fifty Five at Hilton

Most Popular

  • The Shore
  • 360 Condos
  • Seaholm Condos
  • Spring Condos
  • Milago Condos

New Construction

  • The Independent
  • 70 Rainey
  • Austin Proper
  • Fifth & West

Loft Style

  • Austin City Lofts
  • Brazos Place
  • The Sabine
  • Plaza Lofts
  • Avenue Lofts
  • Brazos Lofts
  • Brown Building

Resources

  • Austin Condo Guide
  • Condos For Sale
  • Condo Buyer FAQ
  • Property Search

Featured

Archives

Austin city life since 2007 · Newsletter · About · Contact Us · DMCA · Privacy Policy · SLAPP · Copyright © 2007-2022 TOWERS.net · All Rights Reserved
 

Loading Comments...