Posted Jun 13, 2024, 3:55 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 12,863
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At massive Hill’s Cafe redevelopment, cottage demolition put on hold
Quote:
Pieces continue to fall into place for a planned mixed-use development at the former site of Hill’s Cafe, though Historic Landmark Commission members put one of those pieces on hold at their most recent meeting in the hopes that a 1940s cottage might find a new home.
Commissioners voted 9-1 to postpone a proposed demolition for Building 10 at 4700 South Congress Ave., hoping that the cottage can be relocated, not demolished. Commissioner JuanRaymon Rubio voted in opposition, and Commissioner Tara Dudley was absent. The vote will allow developers to move forward with relocation, if possible, or return to the commission in July for a vote on demolition if they opt to take that route.
Michele Lynch, who is the director of land use and entitlements at Metcalfe Wolff Stuart & Williams LLP, represented the applicant. She explained that the redevelopment of the 14.8-acre site will incorporate some of existing structures and the familiar Hill’s Cafe sign. A lot of the buildings, she noted, are less than 50 years old or “just shacks,” but they have focused on preserving the two-story motel building and stone cottages along the road and plan to incorporate two other Calcasieu cottages on-site. Developers plan to relocate two other cottages off-site, to the property of one of the original owners’ family. Plans for the property, which are currently under review by the city, show 450 multifamily units and 400,000 square feet of office, restaurant and music venue space.
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