Editor’s note: This podcast was originally published on Spotify on January 28, 2024. 

In this episode of The Texan Recap, Senior Audio Producer Jack Lewellyn chats about a realty company’s plans to revitalize “Dirty” Sixth Street and a student’s small business that supports charity.

Reported by Olivia Dilley and Sabrina Ye. Hosted by Jack Lewellyn. Edited by Aislyn Gaddis. Cover art by Emma Berke. Music by Top Flow Productions.

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Jack Lewellyn: Sixth Street has some major incoming changes … And one freshman’s hobby has turned into a way to help children in need.

I’m your host this week, Jack Lewellyn, and this is The Texan Recap.

Here’s what you missed this week.

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Jack: A Dallas-based realty company has released a plan to revitalize Sixth Street. Senior news reporter Olivia Dilley is here with the story. Thanks for being here today, Olivia.

Oliva Dilley: Thanks, Jack. I’m happy to be here.

Jack: So just to start, what exactly is the Dirty Sixth?

Olivia: So Dirty Sixth, or also known as Old Sixth, is kind of the original part of Sixth Street. It’s got all the historic buildings — all the charm. It’s kind of called Dirty Sixth just given all the grungy bars and trash that has kind of littered the streets for a while now. But yeah, it’s really that original place. The place that you think of when you think of like Austin, Sixth Street. It’s got all those famous bars.

Some of the things that they want to do are implementing like a weekend farmers market, live music and just kind of other things that would revitalize that area and kind of clean it up a little bit. They said that one of the things they want to do is make Sixth Street a place that you can spend the day and not just the night out.

Jack: You also interviewed some students about the revitalization plans, what did they say?

Olivia: The student I interviewed kind of had mixed feelings about the development on Sixth Street. She kind of felt that it could bring some positivity to the area and just some new experiences for people, but she kind of also did think that it might end up pushing out some of those already well-established places just because when new things come in. It can raise rent prices and things like that, and for smaller businesses that are already there, it might end up making it too expensive for them to be there. But she did say that things like the farmers market and the live music — like those are things that she would be interested in. So…

Jack: What kind of changes on top of that, that you’ve already mentioned, should we expect to see to come to Sixth Street probably first?

Olivia: So in January, this month, they’ve already started construction on those 30 plots that they’ve bought on Sixth Street. First, what they’re doing is just fixing up the facade. So the front of the buildings that are you know, graffitied on or broken windows are boarded up, things like that. They’re fixing all that up. And that’s kind of the first phase that they’ve announced. So more will be to come. But that’s, that’s so far what they’re working on.

Jack: And how do you think these eventual changes could impact campus life on and around Sixth Street?

Olivia: I do think it will change the culture. I think when you, you know, take the dirty out of Sixth, like one of my sources said in the story, it’s going to change things it’s going to make the area just nicer, it’s gonna make it cleaner. It also might like one of my other sources said it might end up pushing out some businesses. We might, you know, end up seeing some of those longtime bars that we’ve had go out of business. And that’ll be sad in a lot of ways. 

But I also think there will still be a customer base for those bars, they’re still going to be college students that like those. And so I don’t think we’re going to see all of those disappear. I think students and other you know, Sixth Street, visitors will still be able to find that, but I do think that, you know, for people that want more out of Sixth, they’re gonna get that I think they’re gonna get, you know, like I said, those neighborhood farmers markets and that live music and those local shops and things. It’s kind of, in my opinion, I feel like it’s gonna bring up a little bit more of a South Congress feel to Sixth Street.

Jack: That was Senior News Reporter Oliva Dilley. Thank you again for your time. 

Olivia: Thank you so much. 

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Jack: Ava Bozic is a freshman who turned her small business into a children’s charity effort. General Life & Arts Reporter Sabrina Ye is here to tell us about them. Thanks for joining me, Sabrina.

Sabrina: Yeah

Jack: Let’s see, just to start, who is Ava Bozic and what is her business about?

Sabrina: Yeah, so like you said before Ava Bozic is a freshman. She is an HDO major and she is local to Austin. Her business is called Fun Fashions and it sells a variety of jewelry, and it can be found in a lot of local stores around here like the Blanton Museum of Art. And a big part of her mission is that she donates half of her profits to charity.

Jack: So speaking of that jewelry you mentioned, she sort of started as a hobby. How did she turn that into a business and why?

Sabrina: Yeah, so Ava told me that she’s always been a very creative person, and she taught herself how to make jewelry. And in middle school in her history class, she learned about the disparity some children faced in less developed countries, and she was compelled to raise money. And so she started selling her homemade jewelry at like her, her lemonade stand, and then she slowly transitioned to selling it in her stores.

Jack: So to speak further on that charity effort. Can you just tell me more about that?

Sabrina: So, initially, she, Ava donated to a charity called Save the Children. But then she moved to donating to Zoe Empowers because she felt that that charity, Zoe Empowers, was more personal. And so half of our profits go towards financially adopting eight kids. So what it means to financially adopt is that she fully funds things such as supplies, schools and food for those eight children.

Jack: You also spoke to a couple of people about Ava’s work. Could you tell me what they thought about it?

Sabrina: Yeah, so I talked to the Blanton Museum manager, and she said that she loved how affordable Ava’s pieces were and how they make great gifts. And then she also liked how inclusive the jewelry is, as it can look good on younger and older audiences. 

And then I also spoke to Ava’s close friend, Lara, and she said Ava’s stuff has a big variety because there’s traditional pieces and trendy ones. And she also said that she likes how Ava makes seasonal jewelry, like for Christmas time.

Jack: That was General Life & Arts Reporter Sabrina Ye. Thanks again for joining us. 

Sabrina: Yeah, thank you.

Jack: And that’s The Texan Recap for the week of January 22nd. I’m Jack Lewellyn.

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Jack: The Texan Recap is a production of The Daily Texan Audio Department.

If you liked this episode, make sure to subscribe to The Daily Texan on your streaming platform of choice and follow us on Twitter @texanaudio. 

This episode was hosted by me, Jack Lewellyn, and edited by Aislyn Gaddis. 

Special thanks to Olivia Dilley and Sabrina Ye for their reporting and to Joelle Dipaolo, Mimi Calzada and Chloe Moore for contributing to this project. 

Cover art is by Emma Berke and music is by Top Flow Productions. To read the news stories in this episode or see more from the Texan, head on over to www.thedailytexan.com. 

Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next week!