20.0 - 305 North Bluff Dr — original pdf

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HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION DEMOLITION AND RELOCATION PERMITS DECEMBER 4, 2024 PR-2024-142315; GF-2024-148232 305 NORTH BLUFF DRIVE 20.0 – 1 PROPOSAL Demolish a ca. 1936 elementary school. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS ARCHITECTURE Demolish a section of the Pleasant Hill Elementary School campus, currently serving as the AISD Science and Health Resource Center. The building is a freestanding institutional building with a footprint of approximately 25,758 square feet. It is entirely one story in height, with several wings projecting out from the main entry area, which contain classrooms and other general school spaces. Most of the individual classrooms feature large window walls, containing operable (or formerly operable) 10-lite metal windows. Though they are not true ribbon windows, as they are broken up by interior walls, each assembly does extend most of the width of each classroom to provide light and, at one time, ventilation. The main entry features a set of double metal doors recessed slightly from the front façade, with a covered walkway projecting out to the parking lot and street. The horizontality of the building is emphasized by the flat roof with a modest overhang to shade the fenestration from direct sunlight. Buff brick clads the entirety of the exterior façade. At ends of each wing, full masonry walls are present without fenestration. Since construction, some interventions such as new awnings and exposed mechanical systems are present at public-facing locations. RESEARCH Formerly a rural community, the neighborhood now known as Pleasant Hill in South Austin was built on a site once called Johnstown, which was surveyed but never developed years prior. Records indicate that, by 1903, Pleasant Hill had two one- teacher schools. These schools were split by race, with one reported to have 73 black students and the other 42 white students. Though an in-depth survey of this community could not be located during the first decades of the twentieth century, the southward development of the Austin urban area, as well as highway maps, indicate some growth in the area. The present school saw construction of its original wing (presently located in the center of the current complex) in the mid-1930s, opening in 1936 as a 1st-9th grade school in the local Pleasant Hill School District. After 9th grade, students would attend Austin High School. Continued growth and development in the area saw more students and expansion of the school, with the Pleasant Hill School District becoming a part of Austin ISD upon the annexation of the area in 1956-1958. It was also in this year that the school was formally desegregated, though in the years afterward its student body remained largely African American. In 1975, the school was reorganized to serve solely as an elementary school. With this extended history, Pleasant Hill School is one of the longest operating schools within the city of Austin. PROPERTY EVALUATION Designation Criteria—Historic Landmark 1) The building is more than 50 years old. 2) The building appears to retain high integrity. 3) Properties must meet two criteria for landmark designation (LDC §25-2-352). Staff has evaluated the property and determined that it may meet two criteria: a. Architecture. The building is a good example of 1930s educational and institutional architecture. b. Historical association. The property may appear to have significant historical associations. c. Archaeology. The property was not evaluated for its potential to yield significant data concerning the human history or prehistory of the region. d. Community value. The property does not possess a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, the neighborhood, or a particular demographic group. e. Landscape feature. The property is not a significant natural or designed landscape with artistic, aesthetic, cultural, or historical value to the city. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Strongly encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of at least some of the original spaces of the school, but release the permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. 20.0 – 2 LOCATION MAP 20.0 – 3 PROPERTY INFORMATION Photos Google Streetview, 2024 20.0 – 4 Pleasant Hill Elementary campus expansion (the building in this application is at the upper right corner). City of Austin, Texas, Electric Department, 1985  Historical Information 20.0 – 5 The Austin American Statesman, April 4, 1958