24.b-25.b - 800-801 W 34th St - public comment — original pdf

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Sturgill, Hunter From: Sent: To: Subject: Contreras, Kalan Wednesday, October 7, 2026 7:22 AM Historic Preservation Office FW: Items 24 and 25 - 800 and 801 W 34th St Hunter, please add to backup today. Thanks! Kalan Contreras Principal Planner Historic Preservation Office | Austin Planning 512.974.2727 | Kalan.Contreras@AustinTexas.gov Correspondence and information submitted to the City of Austin are subject to the Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552) and may be published online. | La correspondencia y la información enviada a la Ciudad de Austin está sujeta a la Ley de Información Pública de Texas (Capítulo 552) y puede ser publicada en línea. From: Betsy Greenberg Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 10:31 PM To: Heimsath, Ben - BC <BC-Ben.Heimsath@austintexas.gov>; C-Harmony.Grogan@austintexas.gov; Taniguchi, Bat - BC <BC-Bat.Taniguchi@austintexas.gov>; Pleasant-Wright, Tonya - BC <BC-Tonya.Pleasant@austintexas.gov>; Koch, Kevin - BC <BC-Kevin.Koch@austintexas.gov>; Larosche, Carl - BC <BC-Carl.Larosche@austintexas.gov>; Rice, Judah - BC <BC- Judah.Rice@austintexas.gov>; Acton, Jeffrey - BC <BC-Jeffrey.Acton@austintexas.gov>; Alvarez, Jaime - BC <BC- Jaime.Alvarez@austintexas.gov>; Harris, August - BC <BC-August.Harris@austintexas.gov>; Contreras, Kalan <Kalan.Contreras@austintexas.gov> Subject: Items 24 and 25 - 800 and 801 W 34th St External Email - Exercise Caution Chair Heimsath and members of the Commission, I am so grateful to staff for the thorough report on these properties showing that the properties meet the criteria for historic zoning both through architecture and historical association. I have lived only a few blocks from the properties for over 35 years and most of the information in the staff report was entirely new to me. I knew that the buildings were the Austin Diagnostic Clinic buildings and that many of my neighbors continued to use doctors in the medical buildings until only the dialysis center remained. I had no idea about the important research being done by Dr. Moncrief. I thought that the sky bridge connecting the two buildings was rare in Austin, but I had no idea about the Mid-century Modern design by the renowned team of Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson. Considering that the Frank Erwin Center was torn down and city plans have been approved to remove the Austin American Statesman building, I support preserving these two much smaller examples of their designs that are now rare in Austin. These buildings have been vacant or near vacant for well over a decade and we’ve lived through attempts to re- zone the properties more than once. Most recently our City Council changed the zoning to GR-ETOD- DBETOD. The GR allows additional commercial uses such as hospital or hotel and the ETOD-DBETOD allows for considerably more height if the developer decides to utilize the density bonus to build housing. It is easy to imagine 1 preserving the existing buildings and using the extensive parking lots for housing (hopefully) and/or expanded commercial uses. If there is an actual redevelopment plan, it has not been shared with the neighborhood. Without knowing what is planned, I strongly oppose the demolition of the existing buildings, especially when the properties are part of a REIT that is only concerned with property value and never even bothered to keep them rented. Please initiate historic zoning or postpone these cases until more information is available about how the properties will be re-developed. Thank you for your service, Betsy Greenberg 3009 Washington Sq CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Please use caution when clicking links or opening attachments. If you believe this to be a malicious or phishing email, please report it using the "Report Message" button in Outlook. For any additional questions or concerns, contact CSIRT at "cybersecurity@austintexas.gov". 2