A developer bought up 70 properties on a historically Black street. The community doesn't know what's next
AUSTIN (KXAN) — For Myrtle Holmes Wilson, 79, the sight of her late mother’s face painted on the side of their family business is enough to bring her to tears.
Among East Austin natives, Wilson’s late father, Johnny Holmes, is synonymous with the success of Victory Grill. But Wilson remembers it was her mom, Basyle, who quit her teaching job in Luling, drew down her retirement savings, and helped finance her father’s dream.
Photograph of the Victory Grill in Austin, Texas. (Photo Courtesy/Texas Historical Commission)
That dream is now one of the last Black-owned and operated businesses remaining on East 11th Street – what was once part of a thriving Black entertainment district in Austin.
Wilson says over the years, she has received numerous offers to buy the restaurant and even her family home on East 12th. In both cases, Wilson said she feels she is “in the way” of development changes taking over her neighborhood.
“I just toss them in the can,” Wilson said about the cards developers leave for her. “We can’t turn it loose because we know the hard work that went into it.”
Wilson is among a dwindling group of East Austinites who have held on to their homes and businesses amid a wave of sales, buyout offers, and redevelopment across East 11th and East 12th streets. The changes are reflected in the historically Black churches scattered across east Austin where many of the members who were raised in the community commute from neighboring counties.
Wilson says on E. 11th Street, many of the buildings are still there, but it’s the people and the businesses that are different. The Hillside Farmacy restaurant resembles the Black pharmacist’s office that once sat in the same spot. Across from Victory East, Shorty’s Bar is now Vintage Bookstore and Wine Bar.
Wilson’s family stepped away from operating the Victory Grill and instead made it a priority to lease to other Black restaurateurs who changed the name slightly but kept Victory in the moniker.
‘They own it’
One street over, on East 12th Street, property records show one Dallas-based developer has bought up at least 70 properties from I-35 to Airport Boulevard. The company, Eureka Holdings, Inc., is the single largest landowner on that stretch of road.
KXAN reached out multiple times to Eureka Holdings Inc. to talk about its plans for East 12th Street. The company declined interview requests and told KXAN it had no comment.
KUT first reported in 2017 about the various LLCs and LP names that Eureka Holdings was purchasing property under in East Austin, ranging from 2017 Honk Honk LP to 2015 Donut Wholes RC LP.
“They had a bunch of different kinds of LLCs. Nobody knew it was all one company,” Preservation Austin Board President Miriam Conner said.
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1700 E 12th Street (KXAN Photo/Kevin Baskar)
Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison said Eureka’s acquisition of dozens of properties along 12th in the last decade reveals the lack of protections in place for East Austin.
“It would seem appropriate to me that there would be some mechanism that triggered an alarm when a sensitive, vulnerable area was, you know, having lots of sales,” Harper-Madison said. “Any private property owner or prospector could come in and buy what was for sale, and that’s exactly what they did.”
Many of the properties Eureka owns on 12th are considered historical, including a building at 1500 East 12th Street. The building dates back over 100 years. Records show it was once a German grocery store, East End Saloon, and later housed Black businesses and cultural organizations like the 1500 Barber and Beauty Shop.
1500 E 12th Street (KXAN Photo/Kevin Baskar)
In more recent years, the building has sat vacant, with graffiti covering its walls and boarded-up windows. City records show the developer sought a demolition permit for the building in 2024.
“Of all Eureka holdings on 12th Street, it is probably the most historically significant that is not yet designated,” Meghan King with Preservation Austin said. “If they’re able to demolish this property, then that means that all the rest of them is green light, you know?”
Preservation Austin rallied community members for months to help urge members of Austin’s city council to designate 1500 East 12th as a historic landmark against the owner’s wishes. On December 12, in a 9-2 vote, the council approved the designation.
“There were tears. It sets a precedent of how we can save our culture,” Conner said.
Council Member Harper-Madison, who grew up in East Austin and now represents the area, was one of the two members who voted against historical designation. Harper-Madison said she and her neighbors agreed that designating that building as historic wouldn’t extract the overall greatest good for the neighborhood.
“We need a grocery, a community market. We need eateries. I stand on my vote, I would vote no for historic preservation again if given the opportunity,” Harper-Madison said. “They own it. Let’s figure out a way to work with them where that’s the appropriate path forward.”
“You shouldn’t have to leave your community to get a better one, and that’s how I think about the redevelopment of 12th Street and the opportunities that present themselves to work with the entity that is Eureka. It’s going to require lots of contributions—meaningful contributions—from the community.”
Wilson said she is focusing on what she can control. She said she and her brothers have no intention of selling their family’s business and are passing on stories of their late father and mother to their kids in hopes they will also want to keep their grandparents’ legacy alive on 11th Street.
“Those places, they’ve been painted, but I know what they used to be, what the names of those little businesses were. You know, I still remember it,” Wilson said.
KXAN Senior Designer Chris Ayers, Photojournalist Kevin Baskar, Photojournalist Jordan Belt, Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Editor Sean Farrar, Graphic Artist Wendy Gonzalez, Lead Editor Eric Lefendfeld, Patrick Mullen, Producer Ashli Parks, Evening Anchor Jennifer Sanders, Executive Producer John Thomas, Executive Producer Laney Valian, Weekend Morning Anchor Jala Washington, Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley, Photojournalist Ed Zavala contributed to this report.
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