Haehnel Building
Haehnel Building Restoration
The Haehnel Building, located at 1101 E. 11th Street and also known as Shorty's, is a historically significant structure on the National Register, built circa 1880. ARA is the building’s owner and in 2001 completed renovations of the building for use as 4,200 square feet of office space. It is extremely important to ARA and to the community that the building be rehabilitated in a manner that was consistent with its historical designation.

In 1999, ARA executed a contract with Carter Design Associates, a local architectural firm with substantial experience in the preservation of historic structures, to develop a design for the rehabilitation of the Haehnel Building. In March 2000, the City of Austin awarded the ARA with a preservation grant to help restore the building. The Austin Convention and Visitor’s Bureau also contributed to the preservation effort by awarding ARA their Heritage Grant. Chase Bank provided a loan for the other half of the financing. In April 2000, Balcones Resources, a local recycling company, interested by the building’s historic character as well as its convenient, near downtown location, signed a ten-year lease for the building in which they will house some of their administrative offices.

In Central East Austin it is ARA's role to encourage private investment by initially taking on some of the financial burdens and risk associated with development in our target area. We believe that the rehabilitation of the Haehnel Building has not only brought back to life a gathering place of historic and cultural significance, but will also show that historically responsible investment in the redevelopment area is both possible and profitable.

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Shoehorn Design
Arnold Bakery Renovation
Built circa 1890, the Arnold Bakery located at 1010 E. 11th Street is an 1,800 square foot solid brick structure that has stood the test of time first as a bakery, later as a dinette and most recently an artist’s live/work studio. ARA bought the bakery in 2000 so that it could be renovated in a manner that would blend with the mixed-use development ARA has planned for the block. 
 
Shoehorn Design, a local business that is located just blocks from the site, expressed an interest in renovating the building for use as its new design studio. ARA sold the building to Shoehorn at below market value on the condition that the building be rehabilitated within 12 months in a manner consistent with the larger mixed-use development the ARA is constructing around it. In fact the owners commenced construction on their rehabilitation and addition project in May 2002 and completed it in early 2003. 

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Travis Country Negro Agricultural Extension Office Renovation
(aka H. Schieffer house and/or the East Room)

Eligible for the National Register, the structure was built around 1903 as the home of the Schieffer family, which operated a neighborhood grocery and meat market through the 1940s. The house served as the office of the Travis County Negro Agricultural Extension Agency (TCNAEA) in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It was a significant statewide agency, the first of its kind in Travis County, and its presence in East Austin was important to the African American community. As the fortunes of the community declined so did the NAEA. In its last incarnation the building became the East Room, an “after hours” club that was a magnet for a variety of criminal activities. ARA, with the support of the surrounding neighborhoods, purchased the property in 1998 and shut the club down. Responses by the police to calls in the area subsequently dropped dramatically. This, in combination with the efforts of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and its economic development corporation, the Austin Police Department and the Anderson Community Development Corporation, helped greatly reduce crime in the area (from over 400 police calls in 1997-1998 to 12 calls in 1999-2000).

ARA is in the process of rehabilitating the 1,800 square foot building, which is eligible for historic designation by the City of Austin and the National Register of Historic Places for use as affordable, executive-suite style office space. Plans include moving it approximately 60 feet to the north in order to make room for a mixed-use building to be built on the same block, adding roughly 1,000 square feet, and turning it into office space. ARA intends to move its administrative offices to the East Room upon the project’s completion. By turning a historic but dilapidated structure and former center of criminal activity into its own office space, ARA not only preserves a piece of the community’s heritage, but also leads by example.

Small businesses that are unable to afford to rent traditional office space in this area where property values are quickly appreciating will be able to rent one or more of the nine offices in the building, which includes a common reception area, conference room, and copy room. It will also offer optional receptionist and computer networking services. The near downtown location will enhance the potential the success of its tenants.

The rehabilitation of the TCNAEA and installation of an historic marker is vital to the preservation of the flavor and the culture of this community and has the potential to, in tandem with the many other historic landmarks and sites in the area attract more heritage tourism to Central East Austin. These tourists would be likely to spend money at restaurants on East 11th Street, see blues and other musical acts at the Victory Grill (a historic landmark), and generally bolster the area’s economy.

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Austin Revitalization Authority | Respect · Restore · Revitalize
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