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Additionally, Girard, who has been working on it since before the pandemic, said that the businesses were aware of these tentative plans and have been operating on month-to-month leases because of them. Hanover partner David Ott told KXAN that the project aims to honor the roots of the neighborhood: “We’re not trying to change the character other than on the masonry facades,” referring to plans to reconstruct warehouse facades onto the new building since it’s the Warehouse District.Ī post shared by Oilcan Harry's while the development would take over buildings currently housing bars Coconut Club and Neon Grotto, Girard told KXAN that he’d want to find new locations for the businesses.
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Working with developers is crucial.”īehind the project are Houston-based real estate company Hanover Company and 201/213 West Fourth Street property owner Michael Girard, who also operates downtown bar Speakeasy. The current Oilcan owners posted a statement on Instagram on April 11 acknowledging the proposal and the resulting discussion: “We know Austin is inevitably changing, but we are determined to find a way to ensure our community on 4th street is not pushed out. The plans were revealed during the April 11 meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission’s Architectural Review Committee. In order to try to preserve the area’s status as a major LGBTQ hub in the city, part of the proposal includes creating a street-level space for Oilcan Harry’s in the new building with a 25-year lease, according to KXAN, and the developers finding a temporary space for the bar during the construction period, as reported by Community Impact. The proposed plan would build a mixed-use tower on 201 to 213 West Fourth Street, which would demolish several important bars on the street, including Oilcan Harry’s, Coconut Club, Neon Grotto, and the shuttered Sellers Underground. “It is a cause for everyone to always be alert, and if you see something, say something.A new residential development project proposal would drastically change one of Austin’s essential LGBTQ neighborhoods, as reported by the Towers. “Someone did this once, they can do it again,” he said. Rivas said he thinks everyone should “be on high alert.”
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He said he plans to install a camera with a street view to ensure patrons are safe. With Austin Pride events coming up this weekend and 400,000 people expected to crowd downtown streets for festivities, Beshear has asked police to increase patrols near his bar. None of the officers in the area saw any suspects, police said. They also said that about 30 to 40 minutes later, another firework was thrown on the south side of the Driskill Hotel, at the corner of Sixth and Brazos streets. “I am a little more concerned this time because this is the second time this happened,” Beshear said.Īustin police confirmed Thursday that officers responded to the bar around 1 a.m. He said he is not sure if the business was targeted because it is a gay bar, but whoever threw the firework did not say anything or yell any slurs. On June 28, after another karaoke night, someone similarly threw a firework onto the patio.īeshear said patrons called the police that time, too, but no one responded. “(The firework) landed in an empty spot, and thankfully no one was hurt,” he said.īeshear said this is the second time this has happened. He said a woman complained that an ember hit her leg but she was OK. The camera system, however, didn’t record the incident because it faces the front door to the establishment.
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The Iron Bear co-owner Bengie Beshear said he was in the office when it happened but was told by patrons that the firecracker was thrown from a black or dark-colored car that was stopped at a traffic light.
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When a firework is thrown on a sidewalk full of people at a gay bar, it is scary.” “I don’t think people were afraid as much as in shock,” Rivas said. He said a firework had been thrown from a moving vehicle onto the patio, where about a dozen people were gathered. “There was a bright green flash followed by a burst of smoke,” said Rivas, who called 911 to report the incident. Steve Rivas said he was at the Iron Bear on West Eighth Street for karaoke night with his husband when, shortly after 1 a.m., he heard a loud, thunderous bang that rattled the bar’s windows. A downtown Austin gay bar is beefing up security after someone threw a firework onto its patio for the second time this summer, setting off a cloud of smoke that sent patrons scrambling early Thursday just days before Austin Pride weekend.