The city’s Historic Preservation Office is putting the finishing touches on its long-awaited Downtown Austin Historic Resource Survey, with plans to present the final draft to Historic Landmark Commissioners this week.
En route, staff stopped by City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee for a preliminary briefing on their findings, which mark the first attempt at a comprehensive survey of the area’s historic resources since 1984. In addition to research on buildings eligible for individual landmark distinction, which now include those built up to the year 1975, the document outlines seven brand new districts that staff believe meet the threshold for local historic designation.
The largest among those proposed is the Downtown Austin Local Historic District, encompassing roughly 300 acres largely along Congress Avenue and West Sixth Streets that date back to the city’s original 1839 Waller Plan. While the proposed district contains areas already recognized in the National Register of Historic Places, the local historic distinction would set more rigorous standards for preserving the area’s historic character, though the designation would first need the support of 75% of affected property owners.
Farther north, the survey also identifies a potential local historic district in Judge’s Hill, where staff say clusters of late 19th and early 20th century homes like the William T. Caswell House “reflect the changing tastes and attitudes about how prominent citizens should use architecture to communicate their identity.” Located between Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and 15th Streets to the north and south, and Shoal Creek and San Antonio streets to the west and east, the 73 acres of largely residential homes sparked concerns over the burden of preservation on homeowners.
“We had a constituent very recently, and after watching their situation with historic preservation and what kind of turmoil it put her family through when they were involuntarily designated, while I can appreciate that it’s a rarity, the outcomes are so damaging.” said District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison.
Division Manager Kim McKnight assured Council Members that, while the survey is intended to help city staff prioritize resources for preservation, the extremely high bar for designation and a rigorous rezoning process are designed to ensure that property owners’ circumstances are considered.
“The decision to designate is in the hands of Council. We simply make recommendations,” said McKnight. “I think it’s best to think of Historic Preservation as a planning tool that you have to weigh, along with many other things, whether it’s sustainability, or affordability. So it’s just one of the many tools that you have in your toolbox, and one of the many lenses that you have in which to view cases.”
West of Lamar, a number of smaller potential districts are also poised to make the final draft, including the Shelley Booth Hancock and Westridge-Lauve neighborhoods nestled within the larger Clarksville area. Sections of Enfield Road and West 6th have also been identified as eligible, along with an area surrounding the present-day Union Pacific Railroad that formerly anchored the city’s 19th century industrial boom.
Staff are slated to deliver their final conclusions before the Historic Landmark Commission at their July 2nd meeting. Until then, readers can learn more about what it means to be a local historic district at the city’s website.
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City Council Housing and Planning Committee
historic preservation: Official actions of a municipality such as the City of Austin taken to preserve structures with their jurisdiction. Preservation is often accompanied by a property tax exemption.
