What’s happening
Stream and Clayton Korte officials announced in a December news release that they would begin restoring the facades of buildings along the 500-700 blocks of East Sixth Street that have “fallen into disrepair,” as well as beginning the leasing process with 30 parcels available.
Stream owns multiple vacant buildings along the 200, 500, 600 and 700 blocks of the street, situated between Congress and I-35.
Stream Senior Vice President Paul Bodenman said the goal is to “bring back Sixth Street” by improving the existing buildings and adding more restaurants, retail and neighborhood spaces to create a “neighborhood experience downtown.”
Bodenman added that the goal is to have construction completed and tenants operating within the next two to three years.
How we got here
The project began as an effort to bolster public safety along the notoriously rowdy street, as well as improve commercial activity, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Per the release, the firm’s vision is to bring back a weekend farmers market, outdoor concert series, local art and shops, and an array of restaurants where “Austinites can spend the whole day, not just a night out.”
Unlike surrounding Austin neighborhoods, Sixth Street has “yet to return to its full potential” as a booming daytime hub, said Clayton Korte Principal Paul Clayton in the release.
“To work in a historic district and protect its heritage while also transitioning the neighborhood from its current bar-only focus to a more all-day, public-centric area—that is the direct result of the investment Stream is making,” Clayton said.
Also of note
During the Jan. 10 Historic Landmark Commission meeting, commissioners approved 11 items pertaining to the project, which included:
- 201 E. Sixth St.: remodel and repair of the former Nichols-Gellman House for a restaurant, restoring the building to “an earlier era within the building’s period of significance”
- 209 E. Sixth St.: remodel and repair of the former Morley Brothers Drugstore for a restaurant, encouraging retention of its historic exterior sign
- 505-507 E. Sixth St.: renovate, remodel and replace windows for a restaurant
- 520 E. Sixth St.: rehabilitate and repoint brick of the former Carrington Store for a restaurant
- 723-725 E. Sixth St.: renovate, remodel and add onto the building
