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ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET CASE NUMBER: C14H- HLC DATE: August 6, 2025 PC DATE: CC Date: APPLICANT: Lisa Vela, Next Level Permits, LLC (commission-initiated) HISTORIC NAME: WATERSHED: Waller Creek ADDRESS OF PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE: 607 East 38th Street, Austin, TX 78705 ZONING CHANGE: SF-3-CO-NP to SF-3-H-CO-NP COUNCIL DISTRICT: 9 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Do not grant historic zoning, as the property does not meet two criteria for designation. Strongly encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse or relocation, then material salvage and reuse, but release the demolition permit upon completion of a City of Austin Documentation Package. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION: architecture and historical associations. HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION ACTION: PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: CITY COUNCIL ACTION: CASE MANAGER: Austin Lukes, 512-978-0766 NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS: Austin Independent School District, Austin Neighborhoods Council, CANPAC (Central Austin Neighborhood Plan Area Committee), Friends of Austin Neighborhoods, Hancock Neighborhood Assn., Homeless Neighborhood Association, North Austin Neighborhood Alliance, Preservation Austin DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The 2019 Historic Resource Survey of North Loop, Hancock, and Upper Boggy Creek lists the house a medium priority. This survey does not give recommendations for landmark designation. BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION: § 25-2-352(3)(c)(i) Architecture. The property embodies the distinguishing characteristics of a recognized architectural style, type, or method of construction; exemplifies technological innovation in design or construction; displays high artistic value in representing ethnic or folk art, architecture, or construction; represents a rare example of an architectural style in the city; serves as an outstanding example of the work of an architect, builder, or artisan who significantly contributed to the development of the city, state, or nation; possesses cultural, historical, or architectural value as a particularly fine or unique example of a utilitarian or vernacular structure; or represents an architectural curiosity or one-of-a-kind building. Originally built as a side-by-side duplex in the Hancock neighborhood, the property at 607 E. 38th St. is one of the last remaining and most intact examples of this typology in this part of the city. It features wood frame construction clad with lapped teardrop siding with a narrow profile. While many earlier built properties in Hancock, as well as surrounding neighborhoods such as Hyde Park1, were subdivided to house additional tenants during the Great Depression, this house was purpose-built for two units. This is visually apparent by the two equally sized and prominent front doors at the corners of the building, each covered with a modest gable over their respective entries. The house is elevated slightly above grade by pier-and 1 National Register of Historic Places, Hyde Park Historic District, Austin, Travis County, Texas, 1990. beam construction, with the entryways accessed by small concrete stairs that are parallel to the street and lead to a single centered walkway. Some architectural elements, such as the exposed rafter tails and the gables, bear some resemblance to houses built by the Calcasieu Lumber Company in Austin. These houses were popular in the early decades of the 20th century and were a cost-effective option for building homes on recently platted or developed properties2. There are some surviving examples of these buildings nearby in Hyde Park and North Campus3. It is unknown at this time whether the duplex at 607 E. 38th St. was built by and of Calcasieu lumber, or if it was simply made from similar construction materials and practices prevalent at the time. No known examples were found of a Calcasieu house matching the layout of this property, with two front entryways and modest gables. However, the building does retain excellent, if weathered, integrity of its original material and construction practices of the era. § 25-2-352(3)(c)(iv) Community Value. The property has a unique location, physical characteristic, or significant feature that contributes to the character, image, or cultural identity of the city, a neighborhood, or a particular group. As mentioned in the section above, the building located at 607 E. 38th St. was constructed as a side-by-side duplex, and after a brief period of being owner-occupied, the house was occupied by renters for at least the next 30 years, with intermittent periods of being vacant on one of the two sides. These renters included clerks, delivery drivers, pharmacists, bookkeepers, along with numerous students attending the University of Texas or other nearby institutions of higher learning. Throughout these early decades of the property, none of the renters appear to have stayed at the address longer than three years, which speaks to the property as a place of transition and tenant movement and is an underrepresented history among Austin city landmarks. It is more typical that these types of buildings are lost through lack of maintenance or other demolition of building stock over time. However, being that there is no overarching connection among occupants, no long-term residents that may yield a larger historical narrative, and that the property does not have a unique location or features beyond its use as a rental, it is staff’s determination that it does not rise to the level of meeting the criteria for Community Value. PARCEL NO.: 0217061604 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 7 BLK 4 OLT 7-8 DIV C HARPERS SUBD ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX EXEMPTION: AISD $941.07 COA $945.73 TC $682.06 TC Health $213.80 Total $2,782.65 APPRAISED VALUE: $667,351 (Land: $542,636; Improvement: $124,715) PRESENT USE: Residence DATE BUILT/PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE: 1937 INTEGRITY/ALTERATIONS: Medium-to-high. The building was originally constructed as a duplex and has been retained as such. Minor repairs seem to have been undertaken over the past 80 years, and reversible alterations are present at the front elevation, such as metal screen doors and window air conditioning units. Building materials are in decent and repairable condition, mostly showing wear from decades of use. 2 Barnes, Michael. “The building blocks of early Austin.” Austin American-Statesman. September 25, 2018. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2013/05/18/the-building-blocks-of-early-austin/9988243007/ 3 Examples include 4302-4304 Avenue D in Hyde Park, 404 West 34th Street in North Campus, and 311 Leland Street in Travis Heights PRESENT OWNERS: Habitat Haus LLC ORIGINAL OWNER(S): Lucille Marlow, possibly William Marlow (Lucille is listed in 1937 city directory as owner and William’s widow, it is undetermined if this was prior to completion of the building construction). OTHER HISTORICAL DESIGNATIONS: None Images Demolition application, 2025 Site visit, July 2025 Sanborn map, 1935-1962, vol. 3, showing 607 and 607 ½ E. 38th St. as a side-by-side duplex. 1958 aerial imagery showing 607 E. 38th St. (second to the left of Montrose St., with a dark roof). Prior aerial imagery appears to show the building but is unclear. Historical Information The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 08 Apr 1935: 3. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 08 Oct 1936: 13. The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 12 June 1938: 18. The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 02 Apr 1944: 17 . The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 27 May 1946: 7. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 28 Jan 1949: 14. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 03 Dec 1954: 8. The Austin Statesman (1921-1973); Austin, Tex.. 08 Jan 1957: 7. The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 16 July 1961: E6. The Austin American (1914-1973); Austin, Tex.. 16 July 1961: E6.