Plans for the redevelopment of an iconic Austin music shop’s longtime home include nearly 100 residences and retail at Lamar and Sixth streets.
Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group bought the 1-acre shopping center at 600 North Lamar Street, which includes Waterloo Records, in 2019. It is seeking to rezone it for transit-oriented, mixed-use development, the Austin Business Journal reported. The city’s planning commission is scheduled to review the proposal Tuesday.
The nine-story, mixed-use development would include 93 residential units and 18,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, according to public filings. Under the proposed zoning, Endeavor would be required to include some affordable units or pay a fee in lieu.
The shopping center’s tenants also include 24 Diner, Amy’s Ice Creams, Lululemon and Lush Cosmetics. But the Waterloo Records relocation will likely draw the most public attention. The record store, a fixture at the corner since the early 1980s, is moving just up the road to a larger space at 1105 North Lamar Boulevard.
That 10,000-square-foot space will offer better parking and expanded room for in-store events, while keeping the store within walking distance of downtown and nearby music venues. The timing of the move has not been finalized, though signs have gone up at the new site.
The redevelopment of the Lamar-and-Sixth intersection, long viewed as a cultural waypoint amid Austin’s rapid growth, highlights broader shifts in the urban core. Developers are racing to add density to close-in neighborhoods as the city’s music and nightlife landmarks try to hold their ground.
Endeavor has been among the most active commercial developers in Austin over the past several years, and the move to redevelop this highly visible parcel has been expected since its 2019 purchase.
If approved, the project would join a wave of mid-rise and mixed-use developments reshaping central Austin’s skyline while adding yet another data point to the city’s long-running tension between growth and preservation.
— Judah Duke
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