Austin City Council passed a resolution on Sept. 26 to provide funds and work with Rally Austin to purchase and preserve historically and culturally significant buildings.
Rally Austin is a real estate nonprofit facilitating development projects for inclusive economic growth. The nonprofit helped preserve Hole in the Wall in 2023. With the organization, the city plans to fund the resolution using its Historic Preservation Acquisition Funds, according to the resolution.
“This is absolutely a step in the right direction, and something that Preservation Austin is really excited about,” said Meghan King, the policy and outreach planner for Preservation Austin. “This fund has existed for about five years now, and there’s a good chunk of money in there.”
The city is also considering using historic tax credits for funding, according to a statement from Meghan Wells, special liaison for economic development and culture for the Financial Services Department. The Texas Historical Commission is also potentially offering up to 25% tax credit to qualified Texas buildings.
“The city and Rally Austin are eager to explore how a wide variety of funding tools and programs, including historic tax credits, may be utilized to leverage acquisition funds for historic properties that attract tourists or have potential to attract tourists,” Wells said.
Some of the Historic Preservation Acquisition Funds come from Hotel Occupancy Taxes, which legally must promote tourism in the purchased properties, Wells said.
“Tourism and historic preservation have often had a very close relationship,” King said. “Historic preservation can be a real driver of tourism when done correctly. … In this sense, this fund marries those two goals.”
The city has yet to choose specific locations to purchase, and is awaiting the City Council’s decision on the Equity-Based Preservation Plan this fall, Wells said in a statement. The plan will replace the Historic Preservation Plan adopted by the city in 1981, and aims to preserve buildings in the city with cultural heritage.
“We would love to see more resources on the east side be preserved and used as a tool of revitalization in certain areas,” King said. “There are tons of others, just tons of places on the east side … like Black and brown businesses, existing businesses or former businesses, (that would be) a dream (to preserve).”
Sociology senior Chloe Rech said she’s witnessed famous Austin businesses face danger of closing, such as a restaurant on Barton Springs Road called Shady Grove that closed its doors after 28 years.
“It’s hard to balance the growth of a city with the preservation of a history,” Rech said. “You lose a lot of culture to growth, and so it’s important that the City Council works to combat that.”
