DANA has drafted the following letter to be presented to the Historic Landmark Commission at their meeting on Monday, March 28th to oppose the the historic landmarking of the warehouse at 301 W. 6th St.
Letter to Historic Landmark Commission
To the Historic Landmark Commission,
The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) is opposed to granting historic landmark status to the 301 W. 6th St. warehouse where The Iron Bear is currently located. We feel that The Iron Bear is an important institution for the LGBTQ+ community downtown and are hopeful that this bar is able to relocate again in a new downtown building with sufficient timing. We have formed our stance based on the following reasons:
1. The high potential for density and housing at this site.
2. The owner of the warehouse, Sixth & Lavaca 2018 LP, are in favor of demolition.
3. DANA does not find the warehouse to be exceptional or worth preserving, given the potential of this site to help achieve other community goals.
This site is located directly on a current MetroRapid corridor, an upcoming light rail corridor, in the walkshed from the upcoming Republic Square Project Connect station. Additionally, this lot is not in a Capitol View Corridor and is zoned to have no height limit.
Given the items listed above, DANA supports the demolition of 301 W. 6th St. and is opposed to granting this lot historic zoning.
Thank you for your consideration.
The DANA Board
