When Ron and Yasbel Flores told their friends they were moving to the South Congress area 18 years ago, they said their friends called them crazy.

“You didn’t really walk down South Congress [Avenue],” said Ron Flores, who described the now-quirky, vibrant tourist destination as somewhat of a red light district when he and his wife first moved to the area.

The couple said back then, the Hotel San Jose had hourly rates, Hopdoddy Burger Bar was a car dealership, and an X-rated movie theater stood at the corner of South Congress and Live Oak Street.

Today, hundreds of people frequent South Congress daily to eat, shop, socialize and visit Austin icons such as Jo’s Coffee and the Continental Club.

But a new mixed-use development, changing storefronts, more visitors and an ongoing struggle with neighborhood parking has some South Congress local business owners and residents wondering whether a part of Austin’s unique character has been lost.

South Congress changes

Next year, seven businesses leasing space in and around what is known as the Soco Center—located between 1011 and 1123 S. Congress Ave.—will vacate so new development Mixed Use Music Lane can be built.

The 113,300-square-foot development will have 51,000 square feet of office space, 47,800 square feet of retail space and 14,500 square feet of restaurant space, according to documents engineering firm Big Red Dog filed with the city of Austin’s planning department. A parking garage is also included.

The development of Music Lane Mixed Use will close Sfanthor House of Wax, Texas National Outfitters, Wet Salon & Studio, Strut, Parts & Labour, United Apparel Liquidators and Ignite Fitnez.  A timeline for the new development has not been given.

The development will be designed by Lake/Flato Architects, which also designed the nearby Hotel San Jose.

Lake/Flato Architects and Big Red Dog declined to comment for this article.

Nearby restaurant Snack Bar, which opened in 2009, will also close Oct. 30 after being purchased—along with the Austin Motel, which will remain open—by Greenfield Partners LLC, a real estate investment company.

Other recent newcomers to the corridor include Torchy’s Tacos, which opened its flagship store in January; restaurant June’s All Day, which opened its first brick-and-mortar location in June; eyewear store Warby Parker, which opened Aug. 27; and Cosmic Cowboy Smoke Shop, which opened in August.

Business owners reflect

The businesses being replaced by Music Lane Mixed Use are preparing to vacate and have been searching for new homes.

Perry Griffin, general manager of Texas National Outfitters, will have to vacate in January after a little more than three years in business. He said he has been looking to relocate downtown or somewhere along South First Street.

Eric Massey, who co-owns Wet Salon & Studio with Jimmy Haddox, said he is not too worried about moving and is confident his client base will follow the salon.

“I think our brand will fit anywhere in Austin,” he said, adding he is looking at the move with a positive perspective but is nostalgic about leaving his South Congress salon, which he and Haddox have owned since 2000.

Parts & Labour owner Lizelle Villapando said she was notified this spring that she would have to vacate by the end of January.

“My world has been South Congress,” she said, adding she is unsure where she will relocate the business. “Who’s to blame for the loss of the character of the city? Everybody allows it, I guess.”

Austin Motel, Snack Bar

A recent South Congress business change has been one of ownership and management.

Austin Motel, which was built in 1938, was recently purchased—along with surrounding properties Snack Bar, Blackmail, Creatures Boutique, The Gypsy Wagon, Turquoise Door and Heritage Boot—by Greenfield Partners LLC.

With the sale to Greenfield Partners, Austin Motel and Snack Bar fell under the management of hospitality company Bunkhouse Group, which also manages South Congress’ Jo’s Coffee, Hotel San Jose and Hotel Saint Cecilia. 

Bethany Andrée, the owner of Snack Bar—originally built as the motel diner—chose to close Oct. 30 rather than finish her lease in 2018 to give her employees up to two months’ severance “so that everyone’s taken care of,” she said.

Andrée said so far it has been difficult to find space in Austin to lease within her price range.

She has been counting down the days until the restaurant’s closure by posting daily Facebook photos and anecdotes.

“I guess I want to be missed,” Andrée said.

Area leaders respond

Brandon Hodge, who leads the South Congress Merchants Association and owns Big Top Candy Shop and Monkey See, Monkey Do!, said the association’s goal for nearly two decades has been to maintain the character of the street.

He said it is unfortunate that businesses such as Snack Bar and tenants from the Soco Center are forced to leave South Congress.

“That’s where the fear really sets in as someone who has so much of their time and energy devoted to South Congress,” he said, referring to the displacement of local businesses.

Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, whose District 9 includes the South Congress area, said she also wants to see the corridor and its small, locally owned businesses preserved.

“It’s going to be a very significant loss,” she said of the businesses moving out of the Soco Center. “Their presence has been part of what has made that area such an appealing one.”

She said she wants to avoid incentivizing redevelopment in historic areas such as South Congress and prefers to see new businesses go to communities that would benefit more from such changes.

“I believe it’s a balance. The city benefits financially [from new businesses] from an increase in property taxes, but we all benefit by preserving the character and appeal of some of these sections that are very distinct,” she said. 

Tovo said she wants to see tools within CodeNEXT—the city’s revamped land-development code that is slated to be completed in 2017—and zoning and preservation policies to prevent South Congress from turning into a section of bars and restaurants, much like Rainey Street or East Sixth Street, and to help small businesses stay in place.

Community relations

Gretchen Otto, who serves as the South River City Citizens neighborhood association president and has lived in the South Congress area since 1999, said living there has always come with problems.

“This has always been a residential area,” she said. “It’s not downtown.”

Otto said parking has been one of the neighborhood association’s major ongoing issues and has made for rocky relationships with South Congress business owners and the city.

The SRCC has begun supporting residential parking permits, or RPPs, that allow residents—rather than South Congress visitors—to park in front of their houses. Sixty percent of households on a residential block must agree to have RPPs, which cost $15 each per year. Residents must then submit an application to the city and get the support of the SRCC before they can begin using the RPPs.

Hodge said he thinks the city gave the neighborhood association too much weight on the RPPs.

“As the area has gotten busier, the parking has gotten more and more restrictive,” he said. “Anything that restricts parking on those streets means that the neighbors are going to ask for relief when [the merchants] need parking the most.”

He said he has proposed a shared parking agreement that would give residents 50 percent of neighborhood parking and allow shoppers to use the other 50 percent.

Tovo said she is aware of the parking concerns and hopes the slated Mixed Use Music Lane parking garage will ease some of that parking congestion.

Both business owners and area residents have worked to maintain the character of South Congress Avenue, which they often characterize as “weird,” “unique” and “local.” The corridor has seen many changes in the past few decades, from the addition of bicycle lanes and back-angle parking to iconic storefronts opening and closing.[/caption]