East Austin History

The City of Austin Plan

In 1927 the Austin City Council engaged the services of Dallas/Fort Worth-area urban planning and consulting firm, Koch and Fowler, to produce the city’s first municipal plan and zoning map. The work of Koch and Fowler resulted in the City Plan of 1928 and is the legal basis for the establishment of East Austin as [...]

Emancipation Park

Established in 1928, Emancipation Park is situated at 2300 Rosewood Ave. The park once served as a “segregated park” for Black community members in Austin. Sitting on 17 acres, the park features a limestone building which serves as a recreation facility. The City of Austin added to the park in the 1930s tennis courts, baseball [...]

The New Deal & Redlining

The federal government launched a New Deal program that would reinforce segregationist boundaries in Austin and throughout the country. The program was designed to restore household wealth during the Great Depression, but it excluded most minority communities through redlining — the practice of denying or charging more for goods and services in certain neighborhoods, usually [...]

Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act of 1968, meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, marked the last great legislative achievement in the civil rights era. Originally intended to extend federal protections to civil rights workers, it was later expanded to address racial discrimination during the sale, rental, or financing of housing units. [...]

Affirmative Action

Beginning in the 1960s, the term “affirmative action” was used when referring to policies and initiatives aimed at compensating for past discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. President John F. Kennedy first used the phrase in 1961, in an executive order calling on the federal government to hire more African Americans. [...]

We Begin

City Council member Eric Mitchell’s Austin Redevelopment Authority initiative to bring investment and commerce to the nearly inert economy along East 11th and 12th Streets helped to jump start the 14-member private corporation charged with implementation of the plan, called the Austin Revitalization Authority. [...]

New Visions for Central East Austin

ARA’s worked for four years with the community and the City of Austin to develop a comprehensive plan to create a sustainable neighborhood. [...]

East Room Purchased

The Austin Revitalization Authority purchased the East Room Night club (now referred to as the Herman Schieffer House) and shut the facility down. This contributed greatly to a reduction in crime in the [...]

The Urban Renewal Plan

The Urban Renewal Plan was designed to cover two areas: East 11th Street from the highway to Rosewood and East 12th Street from the highway to Poquito St., one block past Chicon St., where Sam’s BBQ is. East 11th was designated an entertainment and shopping hub. East 12th was envisioned as a street of small [...]

Soulfest

The Austin Revitalization Authority’s East End SoulFest was a great success, raising- in conjunction with the Giveback Groove- close to $5000 for Project AROS on behalf of Katrina survivors. SoulFest- which drew a crowd of more than 400- featured saxophonist Kyle Turner, jazz violinist Michael Ward, and jazz flautist Althea Rene; along with the band [...]

The Haehnel Building Restoration

The Haehnel Building, better known as Shorty’s Bar, located at 1101 East 11th Street, is now a 4,228 sq ft office building currently leased to Edwards Law Firm. The Haehnel Building is still referenced by many as Shorty’s Bar, in honor of the neighborhood watering hole that occupied it from 1960 to 1987. The building [...]

East 11th and Juniper Streets

Over a period of two years, the Austin Revitalization Authority stewarded updates for a 70-year-old infrastructure upgrade water and wastewater service and buried overhead utilities. The ARA also worked with Capital Metro to secure federal funding from the US Department of Transportation to improve sidewalks, bus stops and landscaping along E. 11th Street. The Urdy [...]

Street Jones and Snell Buildings

Named in honor of three prominent East 11th Street businessmen and civic leaders, the Street-Jones and Snell buildings both house retail businesses on the first floor and office spaces on the remaining floors. The architectural style is neo-traditional, and the exterior brick finish is reminiscent of the early commercial development. The two buildings share 172 [...]

Affordable Housing

The Austin Revitalization Authority developed 11 homes for low-income tenants on Juniper, Curve, and Olive streets over 4 years and cost $2 [...]

Focus on Quality of Life and African American Heritage District

The Austin Revitalization Authority worked with the community and the City Manager’s office to push forward the African American Quality of Life Initiative which led to the designation of the African American Cultural Heritage [...]

Pflugerville Development

HomeTowne at Picadilly Apartments in Pflugerville, Texas is a 168-unit income-restricted apartment community managed by Integrated Real Estate Group offering six different floor plans. It was built in 2008 under the development [...]

Constructed Two Area Parking Lots

In order for commercial businesses to thrive, they need space for customers to park. The Austin Revitalization Authority helped to meet this need by developing two shared parking lots to serve local small businesses in the [...]

Leadership Change

Byron Marshall resigns from ARA and Greg Smith is appointed interim [...]

Restoring Historic Homes and Building Affordable Housing

The Austin Revitalization Authority built and sold 12 affordable homes on Juniper, Curve, and Olive Street (2005-2009). In addition, ARA managed the construction of a single-family affordable housing unit on behalf of Anderson Community Development Corporation in [...]

City Ends Tri-Party Agreement

After years of negotiations and delays, the City ended the contractual relationship with the Austin Revitalization Authority as the preferred developer for the Central East Austin Master Plan. ARA recognized the changes in the restaurant industry with the rise in the mobile food truck businesses. We made space and established a mobile food vendor court [...]

Visionary Leader Passes

Eric Mitchell served as an Austin City Council member from 1994 to 1997. He was the visionary behind the formation of ARA and helped to navigate the political quagmire to establish our [...]

Block 17 Development of Townhomes

The Austin Revitalization Authority formed a strategic partnership with InTown Homes to acquire Block 17 for the development of 16 townhomes, of which two units were sold to income-qualified [...]

The Herman Schieffer House Restoration

Historic Restoration of the famous East Room in The Herman Schieffer House included a two-story addition. Located at 1154 Lydia Street, the 5,555 sq ft office building is now home to the offices of dentistry and psychology as well as ARA’s corporate office. Since 2015, ARA has served as a fiscal agent for organizations to [...]

City Council gives URB a 9-month deadline

Ultimatum to make progress on the last two city-owned parcels on 11th street by June 2020. ARA Fact: ARA currently owns and operates more than 65,000 square feet of office and retail space. A small team of professionals serve as the caretaker of Black economic development and progress in Central Texas. ARA Fact: While ARA [...]