{"id":322579,"date":"2026-06-04T14:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/322579\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:49:14","slug":"historic-east-austin-nate-paul-property-faces-demolition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/322579\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic East Austin Nate Paul property faces demolition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy on our About page<\/a> and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Austin\u2019s Historic Landmark Commission is poised to decide on Wednesday whether to save a 1930s East Austin building that has deteriorated from years of neglect after its 2019 purchase by a company tied to Austin developer Nate Paul.<\/p>\n

Paul once owned countless parcels of land across Austin, aiming to be known as \u201cthe youngest self-made real estate billionaire.\u201d He has lost many of those properties \u2014 including 1808 E. Cesar Chavez St. \u2014 after a spate of federal indictments and his role in Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2019s 2023 impeachment trial<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After years of sitting empty and unused, a lender acquired Paul\u2019s East Cesar Chavez Street property through foreclosure in December 2025. That owner is now seeking permission to demolish the building to make way for redevelopment. The plan has hit a roadblock at the city, where several Historic Landmark Commissioners have suggested the structure\u2019s history and architecture may warrant historic zoning, a designation that could prevent it from being erased. The commission first heard the demolition request in early May, but postponed the case to allow for additional research into the building\u2019s historical significance. Commissioners are scheduled to revisit the case with the additional information Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest example of the tension between preserving what remains of East Austin\u2019s historic fabric and accommodating the neighborhood\u2019s rapid redevelopment. The dispute sets a clash between a property owner now seeking to get rid of a building that has sat vacant and in disrepair under recent ownership and preservation advocates who argue the building\u2019s history is worth saving.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I see so far would indicate to me that this is a very strong candidate [for historic designation], and would be a huge loss if the city were to allow this to be demolished,\u201d said Ben Heimsath, who is the chair of the Historic Landmark Commission but spoke to the Austin Current in his professional role as an architect. <\/p>\n

He added, in this case, \u201cyou have a building that is absolutely, in my opinion, at least worthy of restoration and preservation, but you also have, then, the travesty of a neglectful owner that clearly must have known what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate Paul\u2019s company, 1800 Cesar Chavez LLC, purchased the property in 2019, and the building has sat vacant since. Vince DiMare, who represents the bank that acquired the property through foreclosure, said when they foreclosed on the property, \u201cthe balance on the loan was like $5.4 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul built a billion-dollar real estate empire in Austin but was later indicted on federal fraud charges and embroiled in a controversy with Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a>. Their relationship became central to Paxton\u2019s impeachment trial<\/a>. Since 2019, Paul has lost dozens of Austin properties through foreclosures, bankruptcies and property sales, according to the Austin Business Journal<\/a>. Austin Current attempted to contact Paul but never heard back.<\/p>\n

While the East Austin structure still stands, years of neglect have left it battered and visibly deteriorated. DiMare told the commission it is filled with trash, remnants of campfires and personal belongings left behind by people who have taken shelter there in recent years.<\/p>\n

The previous owners never initiated historic zoning \u2014 the city\u2019s strongest tool to help preserve historic buildings<\/a> \u2014 but Heimsath said earlier owners invested significant effort into restoring the building and returning it to use as a neighborhood gathering place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason it looks like it does is that no one has taken care of it,\u201d Heimsath said. \u201cYou had almost two full decades where it was a restored, perfectly viable, historic building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historic significance at risk <\/p>\n

The building has a long history of commercial tenants \u2014 most recently the cocktail bar Weather Up<\/a>. Built in the 1930s, it originally housed a beauty parlor, barber shop and shoe repair shop, according to the city\u2019s Historic Preservation Office, which has recommended commissioners consider initiating historic zoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that this is a historic building, why aren\u2019t we encouraging developers to rehab the building to maintain the character of the neighborhood?\u201d Laura Born asked commissioners at the May meeting. \u201cToo often, post-demolition, a modern, unaesthetic, boxy building is approved and built in its place, which degrades the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heimsath said this style of building once lined what is now East Cesar Chavez Street during Austin\u2019s still nascent years between 1890 and 1940.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a model that was all over the country, all over small towns in Texas,\u201d he said. \u201cWe see very few of these types of commercial buildings left.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiMare told the Historic Landmark Commission in early May that the structure is now \u201ca complete disaster\u201d and has been occupied by trespassers for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to demolish the building, clean up the property, make it look presentable and sell it,\u201d DiMare told commissioners. \u201cI think by not allowing the demolition, it\u2019s going to hinder somebody coming in and doing a nice development.\u201d <\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

DiMare told commissioners historic zoning could make the property less attractive to potential buyers. It\u2019s uncommon for the city to approve historic zoning over an owner\u2019s objections, and it requires a higher level of support by City Council and planning commissions, but it has happened.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the city approved historic zoning for the century-old building at 1500 E. 12th St<\/a>. Despite the owner\u2019s desire to demolish the structure, which had served as a grocery store, saloon and music venue, the Austin City Council voted 9-2 to grant historic protection.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the landmark commission will hear from the city\u2019s preservation office before voting to initiate historic zoning or approve demolition. Two-thirds of the commission must vote in favor of the move for it to advance. The case would then go before the Planning Commission before heading to the City Council, which has the final say on the building\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very rare for us to recommend historic zoning over an owner\u2019s objections. It\u2019s a pretty high bar,\u201d Heimsath said. \u201cThis is the way we keep our heritage from being plowed under.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy on our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,110,22540],"class_list":["post-322579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-development","tag-preservation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}