Dirty Sixth, an iconic Austin neighborhood, has been a hot spot for bargoers for years. But it’s also “fallen into disrepair,” according to Stream Realty Partners — a Dallas-based realty company that plans on revitalizing the area.

On Dec. 5, the firm announced in a press release its plans to transform the street. Some students worry this might alter the character of the area, said linguistics and Italian senior Andrea Morquecho. 

“Once a company buys a whole block, it gets transformed and catered to a specific person, whereas having different bars all owned by different people adds some sort of charm to it,” Morquecho said.

Students frequent Sixth Street because of its proximity to campus, said Morquecho. But in its current state, it poses cleanliness concerns for some.

“I feel like it could benefit from being cleaned up a little bit,” Morquecho said. “Whenever my out-of-state friend came, he thought it was gross.”

In a press release, Paul Bodenman, senior vice president at Stream Realty Partners, said the company wanted to honor Sixth Street by revitalizing it. 

“Sixth Street is central to Austin and essential to preserving the city’s vitality, and we want to bring this beloved street back to what it once was,” Bodenman said.  

Working with architecture firm Clayton Korte, Stream Realty Partners hopes to bring shops, diverse restaurants and live music to Sixth Street. They plan to transition the neighborhood from its heavy bar focus to a daytime area.

“Stream is looking to bring back a weekend farmers market, outdoor concert series, local art and other community events,” the press release said. “The hope is to create a place where Austinites can spend the whole day, not just a night out.”

Morquecho said she feels the development of Sixth Street might turn away college kids looking for a fun night and cater the area more towards older adults.

“It takes away from the Sixth Street culture, especially Dirty Sixth,” Morquecho said. “You go there because you know it’s not gentrified or changed in any way.”

Gutierrez said she feels the development is inevitable, and without it, Sixth Street’s quality would continue to decline.

“It’s definitely going to change the area a lot,” Gutierrez said. “A farmers market on Sixth Street is crazy. I don’t really know about that … But I understand that for us to take dirty out of Sixth, we need to stop dirtying Sixth, so maybe a farmers market would be good.”

The development will begin this month with exterior restoration on the buildings that have “fallen into disrepair” according to the press release.

“I also understand that Austin is a growing city, and there is an opportunity on Sixth Street that is not that is not being checked off right now,” Gutierrez said. “I’m excited to see it grow in whatever way it does. I hope it makes it safer, if anything.”