For the past several decades, Austin’s historic Sixth Street has offered a consistent nightlife experience – lined with shot bars and dance clubs, it’s the part of town where young people and tourists visit to, well, get messy. Often compared to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, Austinites don’t refer to the street as “Dirty Sixth” for nothing.
But, walking around Sixth in the middle of March, while the sun’s out, is a much different experience. People can be seen walking the nine blocks that make up this part of Austin’s Downtown entertainment district in numbers far greater than any typical afternoon. The many bars and few restaurants lining the street are more active than usual – thanks, in large part, to South by Southwest, which kicks into gear at this time of year.
That vibe is exactly what national real estate firm Stream Realty Partners is hoping to bring to Sixth year-round through a slate of renovations to the historic buildings that have existed on the street, in some cases, for more than a century. In addition to the Bourbon Street-style antics that have dominated the area for the past 20-30 years, Stream Senior Vice President Paul Bodenman says, the firm hopes to attract restaurants and retail businesses, in addition to a planned hotel and perhaps even apartments, in a bid to help Austinites “look at Sixth a little differently and see that it can be more than what it currently is.”…