(Image Courtesy: Urbanspace / Nelsen Partners / dwg.)
The most recent plans the developers sent to the city include 424 hotel rooms, 198 residential units, and 19 affordable apartments, plus commercial space and a rooftop patio and pool. If the commission decides not to designate Bungalow as a landmark - its only avenue to preserve the home - then the developers can tear it down or relocate it, Sadowsky said.Ĭommissioners can delay a vote on the landmark designation up to six months preservation staff members are recommending a delay Monday until the developers can meet with the Architectural Review Committee, which can suggest alterations to the building’s street-level appearance to fit in more with the character of the historic district.īut that committee’s recommendations are not binding, Sadowsky said, and it will be up to the builders whether they want to change their designs. The facade was saved, which means it still contributes to the character of the district, but there’s little to indicate the structure is of significant historical value. (KXAN Photo/Chris Davis) What the commission can doīungalow was substantially redone in 2010, the Historic Landmark Commission notes, to turn it into a bar. “We have grocery stores down the street, you know, there’s bars, restaurants, everything you really need on this street.” Container Bar on Rainey Street. Much like the Domain, “this is becoming like a built-in environment, basically,” he said. “We actually asked the parking guy about it, and he thought we were crazy,” Cohn laughed. He first parked his truck on Rainey about seven years ago, when there were just a handful of bars. “I suppose like any weed infesting a vegetable garden, they’re slowly changing the landscape,” Reid said.Īnthony Cohn, owner of the food truck Stony’s Pizza, has noticed the dramatic change, too. High-rises have gone up, and the character of the area has changed. Since 2011, when he started giving the tours, the area has changed dramatically. “People are really amazed and delighted to see these gorgeous old structures on this part,” he said. Ward Reid leads running tours of downtown Austin, and his most popular route cuts up Rainey from Lady Bird Lake. That has some worried about the continued loss of Rainey Street’s historic charm. Plans for the new building show both Container Bar and Bungalow incorporated into street-level commercial space, but not in the same form as they currently exist. That would mean the bar would either be relocated or demolished to allow the tower’s construction to start. Renderings from the developers published by the City of Austin show both bars existing in some form in the street-level commercial space.