Austin’s Sixth Street to be redeveloped as premier shopping strip

Austin’s Sixth Street will be undergoing some major redevelopments in 2024 after a real estate and architecture firm announced they would begin restoring mostly abandoned, unrepaired buildings on the strip in early January. Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners LP bought more than 30 pieces of property along East Sixth Street to renovate the historic buildings and attract more daytime visitors, according to a release. 

“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,” Paul Bodenman, Stream’s senior vice president, said in a news release. “We have received such positive support from the community and future tenants and are excited to see Sixth Street become a bustling neighborhood again. By restoring Sixth, we honor the history and significance of this iconic Austin neighborhood.” 

The strip’s dramatic renovation will include plans for new and returning Sixth Street tenants with a diverse array of local shops, live music, and restaurants, according to the release. Stream also added its looking to bring back a weekend farmers market, outdoor concert series, local art and other community events, with the vision to create a place where Austinites can spend their days there, and not just nights. 

Stream owns more than 40 properties in downtown Austin between Brazos Street and I-35, which is where construction is expected to begin, according to Culture Map. MySA talked to a few of the businesses in the area of the proposed redevelopment, like All Saints Tattoo and Sacrament Tattoo. They all said that as far as they knew they would not be affected by the construction in 2024. 

“We’re not f**king going anywhere any time soon,” said a bartender at Casino’s El Camino Bar and Grill, which he mentioned was also true for other Casino-owned businesses on Sixth.

Renderings of the proposed new Sixth Street from architect firm Clayton Korte show mostly two- to three-story white and light brown buildings as more of a modern shopping strip for Austinites and tourists. Clayton Korte has also worked on other projects in Austin like the 120-year-old Bouldin Creek Victorian home that became Mattie’s Restaurant, along with the 1920s-style Tudor Cottage at Pease Park’s Kingsbury Commons.