ACC announced the decision Aug. 19 and indicated it wanted to allow time to coordinate with No-Comply's owner on the store's future.
The likely demolition of the No-Comply and Idlewild Coffee building has been something both ACC planners and store owner Elias Bingham knew would be coming for years. The manner in which the city's demolition process played out this summer was a "surprise" to the college and a "slap in the face" to the shop, they said, given the timing and lack of notice provided through the city process.
ACC had filed its request to demolish the 812 W. 12th St. building earlier this year but had not immediately notified the store, Bingham said, and he first learned of his potential ouster was this summer when he found a notice on the process posted on the store door.
That discovery prompted a frantic campaign to generate community support and opposition to the demolition. Last month, Austin's Historic Landmark Commission—the body tasked with determining whether the building's character qualifies it for historic zoning and protection, or for demolition—was swamped with thousands of emails and dozens of public comments submitted against the ACC plan. Bingham said his viral online ask for support prior to the commission's July 26 session resulted in "overwhelming" attention locally and nationally, with support streaming in from Austin residents and members of the skateboarding community as far away as Tokyo during the Summer Olympics.
“[ACC] hadn’t been able to listen to or see what we had going on here. We were just an oversight. So this whole outcry really brought us to their attention, and they had to stop and take a look and see what was going on. And they did," Bingham said.
ACC's demolition request process comes as part of the college's push to realize its master plan for the surrounding Rio Grande Campus. No-Comply is situated next door to an ACC parking garage on 12th Street, and the college said it plans to eventually raze the building in question to expand parking for the growing downtown campus in line with its longtime expansion blueprint. Other demolitions in the area are also included in the college plan.
"We have begun, and in fact to date have actually demoed about three buildings so far, maybe four, and have identified a few others including the skateboard shop as these buildings that ... as they are constructed, really don't serve a purpose for the college delivering quality education," said Neil Vickers, ACC executive vice chancellor of finance and administration. "The nature of them, whatever they may be from a design or condition standpoint, aren’t really conducive to college use. The skateboard shop is one of those buildings that’s on that list."
Weeks after public outcry first led the historic commission to postpone a demolition decision to its Aug. 23 meeting, No-Comply and ACC have reached an agreement. Vickers and Bingham called the end result of the charged process a positive step for both parties that will see No-Comply remain at 812 W. 12th St. under an extended lease while the college and store work together to find a new, permanent location.
"If we weren’t forced to be in this situation and put out this call for help, then the college and the city may never have known who we were and what our community was," Bingham said. "That’s the big positive, is that now they’re well aware of what we have going on and see the value in working with us. There’s so much more that we can do moving forward now that we’ve been introduced.”
Vickers said the college is committed to helping No-Comply with its next steps, after the "unfortunate" series of events surrounding the demolition proposal created unanticipated noise and set immediate deadlines based on the landmark commission schedule.
"We’ve asked the city to basically postpone our application indefinitely so that we can spend some time with Elias and hopefully get his situation to a mutual solution. And then we will be able to then pick back up that process with the city," Vickers said. "I think it’s better to separate those two, make sure that we can do whatever we can do to address Elias’s situation, and then we can go and focus on the city’s process and what that means for the future of that building. And to be honest, then our plans for that campus.”
Options for No-Comply's next step could include moving to space as close as next door at a former retail space on the ground floor of ACC's existing parking garage, Vickers said. Other options could include the pursuit of a storefront elsewhere in the western downtown area near the current store and nearby Heath Eiland and Morgan Moss BMX Skate Park around the corner.
“There are some other options that we would also want to work with him to explore, and then ultimately we just find out ... which of those options is most viable and hopefully is the best for both of us, and that we end up with a win-win," Vickers said. "I’m pretty optimistic that now that we’re making it where we have time to work through that, that we will come to some type of good resolution.”
Regardless of where No-Comply ends up, Bingham said confirmation of his store's security and a commitment to ongoing collaboration from ACC has left him in a good place following a whirlwind month.
“It’s been pretty overwhelming for sure. And it’s also been amazing to see it all come together, and just what the skateboarding community can do and that its voice can be heard and just how everyone in our community really just stands up for it," he said. "We’re not used to asking for help, so it was amazing to see it come through that way.”
While its demolition of the 812 W. 12th St. property is on hold, Vickers said the college has no plans to stall its request to tear down the neighboring 800 W. 12 St. property scheduled for landmark commission consideration on Aug. 23. That site, home to an unoccupied 81-year-old former gas station building, is one city staff do not believe carries historical significance and have recommended for demolition. Vickers also said the college is "not aware of any significant concern" regarding that property's outlook.
