04.0 - C14H-2025-0095 - Calhoun House — original pdf

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ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET CASE NUMBER: C14H-2025-0095 HLC DATE: October 1, 2025 PC DATE: CC Date: APPLICANT: Historic Landmark Commission (commission-initiated) HISTORIC NAME: Givens House WATERSHED: Boggy Creek ADDRESS OF PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE: 2401 Givens Ave. ZONING CHANGE: SF-3-HD-NP to SF-3-H-HD-NP COUNCIL DISTRICT: 1 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the proposed zoning change from family residence- historic district-neighborhood plan (SF-3-HD-NP) to family residence-historic landmark-historic district- neighborhood plan (SF-3-H-HD-NP) combining district zoning. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION: architecture, community value, 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, Del Valle Community Coalition, East Austin Conservancy, Friends of Austin Neighborhoods, Homeless Neighborhood Association, Overton Family Committee, Preservation Austin, Rogers Washington Holy Cross, Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Planning Team DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The 2016 East Austin Historic Resource Survey recommended the property as contributing to a potential local historic district. The property was subsequently listed as a contributing resource in the 2020 ordinance designating the Rogers Washington Holy Cross local historic district. 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. Designed and constructed by local builder Hal Starkey, the Calhoun House exemplifies the California ranch style and is one of the few remaining examples left in East Austin. It features several of the architectural features associated with the Ranch form and style generally, such as a low, long street facing elevation and an attached garage at one side, facing the street. The California ranch elements are more evident at the rear and interior of the property, including vaulted ceilings in the main entry room and wood paneling. The layout of the house at the rear surrounds the yard on two sides, which were originally planned to face a backyard pool. The interior layout is laid out by public and private sections of the home. Since it is all one story, the layout winds around to create a sprawling footprint yet is still in scale for a single family, with additional space for hosting events or guests. The house still features original wood paneling and materials from construction. § 25-2-352(3)(c)(ii) Historical Associations. The property has long-standing significant associations with persons, groups, institutions, businesses, or events of historical importance that contributed significantly to the history of the city, state, or nation or represents a significant portrayal of the cultural practices or the way of life of a definable group of people in a historic time. The Calhoun House is associated with the T.C. and Thelma Calhoun, who had a long legacy of involvement with the largely African American East Austin civic community generally, and the education community in and around what would later be designated as Rogers Washington Holy Cross specifically. T.C. Calhoun served for several years as the president of the Teachers State Association of Texas (TSTA), an organization of several thousand black teachers across the country. The historic zoning application further describes his achievements: T.C. held numerous leadership positions in the community. In 1948 he was elected president of the Austin Negro Chamber of Commerce.28 In 1963, he served as president of the Teachers State Association of Texas (TSTA), an organization of 9,000 African American teachers, and the District Teachers Association. TSTA was founded during Reconstruction and achieved crucial civil rights wins for Black students and teachers in Texas. T.C. was instrumental in creating the Austin-Travis County Teachers Credit Union, which is thought to have helped finance loans for several homes in Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross. He was a charter member on the board that worked to build the first Senior Activity Center on Shoal Creek Boulevard and 29th Street. T.C. was also a board member of the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons and a major contributor to the Children’s Haven Association, a nonprofit founded in 1946 to serve underprivileged children in East Austin. He served in leadership roles with the American Red Cross, United Fund of Austin, the Austin-Travis County Tuberculosis Association, and the Texas Credit Union League. He was listed in Who’s Who in American Education and Who’s Who in Colored America. Thelma Calhoun came from a family of educators and shared their passion for strengthening the educational foundation of the community. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Prairie View College and a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan, she worked for Travis County Schools, then a segregated institution: …she served as a Jeanes Supervisor for the segregated Travis County Schools. Jeanes Supervisors were a group of African American teachers who worked in southern rural schools and communities in the United States between 1908 and 1968. “Also known as Jeanes Teachers, Supervising Industrial Teachers, or Jeanes Workers, they derived their name from Philadelphia philanthropist Anna T. Jeanes, who provided funding for black education in the South.” Thelma later worked as a reading specialist for the Austin Independent School District. Like T.C., Thelma valued community service and served in leadership roles with the Children’s Haven Association and Ebenezer Third Baptist Church, where she was a founder and director of the children’s choir. Thelma also belonged to Delta Sigma Theta sorority and was a charter member of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. Throughout her life she received awards for her civic and service contributions. The combined decades of work and service by the Calhouns resulted in a strong legacy and connection with development of education in East Austin and the African American community during the mid-20th century onward. § 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. Due to their work with the community, especially at schools for black students prior to integration, the Calhoun family home provided community value for its use as a gathering space for civic meetings. The historic zoning application describes the following: The home’s community value also stems from its role as the site of community service meetings in the early years of the Calhouns’ residence and through the present. Their daughter Patricia continues to enrich the community value of the home through her neighborhood advocacy and work with a local non-profit. The neighborhood, and the Calhoun House specifically, served as a large geographic area of African American middle class home ownership, which was made more difficult at the time due to the relative lack of financing options for such pursuits. This strong community allowed for many of the families to stay in place and not be forced to relocate when priced out of the area. Furthermore, the prominent location of the house in the Rogers Washington Holy Cross neighborhood allows it to serve as one of the main pillars on a main residential intersection in the community. PARCEL NO.: 0212101417 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: LOT 14 WASHINGTON SUBD ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX EXEMPTION (homestead, capped): AISD $2,557.81 COA $2,056.37 TC $1,483.05 TC Health $464.87 Total $6,562.11 APPRAISED VALUE: $728,458 (Land: $380,508, Improvement: $347,950) PRESENT USE: Residence DATE BUILT/PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE: 1959; 1959-1970 INTEGRITY/ALTERATIONS: Strong integrity. East patio was enclosed in the late 1970s, now used as a game room. Minor weathering present, but house has been routinely maintained since construction. PRESENT OWNERS: Patricia Calhoun ORIGINAL OWNER(S): Theodore C. & Thelma Dotson Calhoun OTHER HISTORICAL DESIGNATIONS: Contributing resource to the Rogers Washington Holy Cross local historic district Photos: Historic zoning application, 2025 Historic zoning application, 2025