Austin’s Red River entertainment district tapped for city cultural, marketing support

What happened

Businesses in the Red River area will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next few years after City Council voted Nov. 7 to provide new funding to the district merchants association.

The move follows council’s recent request to aid struggling venues around the district following disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and given ongoing affordability challenges faced in the live music and arts community. District stakeholders had also petitioned the city for relief this year.

“It’s a direct investment in the artists and musicians, the workers and businesses who are the heartbeat of the Red River Cultural District,” said council member Zo Qadri, who represents the area and pushed for the support, on Nov. 18. “This funding ensures these essential voices and venues remain a vibrant part of our cultural fabric for years to come.”

The breakdown

Area business representatives said the assistance is a critical piece of collaborations with the city that’ll help musicians and iconic venues stay afloat while the surrounding area continues to change.

Jon-Erik Garcia, owner of night club Barbarella and president of the district organization, said it’s important to preserve a slice of Austin where visitors can book a hotel room, see a comedy or drag show, and pop into a variety of bars, eateries, music venues and dance clubs within a few blocks.

“It’s a validation by the city that tells us that we are recognized as an asset to the city and that we should be protected, and that we should be granted city funding to allow us to work together and continue for the future for decades to come so that we can hold this space,” Garcia said. “It’s important to preserve for the city, and we’re just thankful for it.”

The new fund will provide $150,000 annually to Red River merchants for the next five years. The assistance is based around Austin’s cultural district policies and will be used for branding, planning, performances and business partnerships, such as:

• Marketing and local artist support during the district’s Free Week and Hot Summer Nights festivals
• An economic impact analysis to present the district’s impact and leverage future funding
• A public cultural preservation and musical heritage series
• Historic storytelling projects in the area developed in partnership with the Downtown Austin Alliance

“There’s a lot of opportunity around music heritage tourism to make this the epicenter for people to come and learn about our history, while also experiencing live music,” said Nicole Klepadlo, the district’s interim executive director.

What’s next

With the new city fund established, the Red River Cultural District also announced that Free Week will be returning Jan. 3-4, 2025.

The long-running winter event was on the verge of cancelation earlier this fall without enough funding to continue the program, according to the district. Klepadlo said those in the district are grateful to continue the tradition, and maintain the livelihoods of dozens of venues and businesses and hundreds of musicians.

In other news

The new funding for the district overall came soon after one local venue won additional protection.

This September, Empire Control Room & Garage secured a more than $2 million loan through Rally Austin—the city’s nonprofit economic development corporation—to buy the entirety of its East Seventh Street property. David A. Colligan, Rally Austin chief operating officer, said the Red River venue earned the funding for its business operations and vision, status as a large independent venue, plans for increased capacity, and equity commitments.

General Manager Stephen Flynn told Community Impact the move helps stabilize the independent Empire and its hundreds of concerts held annually, while facing pressures such as rising real estate prices, redevelopment downtown and expanding corporate influence in the industry.

Empire is now one of a handful of businesses and projects to be funded through the Austin Cultural Trust, which include: