Warehouse District

Being that I visit the Austin downtown area at least six times a month as some sort of ritual, I was glad when I stumbled upon an Austin Contrarian blog article that was about the downtown area; The Warehouse District to be precise. The article was written by Chris Bradford on behalf of the forum he attended in which they discussed the topic: What to do with the Warehouse District? The dilemma is should the Warehouse District be preserved from development on the grounds of it being an historic district and if not what are the alternatives? Bradford made it clear that he is against preserving the upscale warehouse district as an historic district. Instead he favors redevelopment. Bradford offers four possible options of what the city of Austin will do: They can preserve it as an historic district, allow redevelopment but reuse of façades, allow redevelopment but impose special design and standards or allow unfettered redevelopment. The author expresses that he loves the idea of a redeveloped Warehouse District that is subjected to special design standards. Although this would take much time, money and require intense planning opposed to the idea of unfettered redevelopment he believes it will be worthwhile in the end.

I have always found it intriguing how Austin merges college life, night life, entertainment, business and politics into downtown without conflicting. I guess it could be part of the “keep Austin weird” factor. I believe this article targets Austinites who are concerned deeply about their city and take great interest in the downtown area. True to its name, the restaurants and clubs in Warehouse District have been renovated from former warehouses to upscale, trendy restaurants, concert halls and clubs. I wonder if that is a strong reason to name it an historic district. The Warehouse District is an important element of Austin’s culture, entertainment and nightlife. Besides that it caters to a young but more mature professional unlike the wild six street that is dominated by college students. The Warehouse District projects an elegant and upscale side of Austin night life. This district is not a museum and serves no historic purpose besides the fact that it was once occupied by dusty old warehouses that were renovated to luxurious bars and clubs that everybody liked. The redevelopment will make use of dead space and enhance the district. I agree with Bradford, if redevelopment will add value to Austin, bring in tax revenue and employ Austin citizens then why not. I don’t understand why people are so afraid of change even when it is good. I say keep Austin weird but Warehouse district elegant.