Colina West Still Wants the Baker Center

Photo by John Anderson

If developers didn't have a bad enough reputation in this town, Colina West Real Estate is suing the Austin Independent School District because of its plan to sell the Baker Center in Hyde Park to the Alamo Drafthouse. Representing the firm, David Kahn told KXAN that he had placed two bids with the district – one for $12 million, another for $11 million – but that the district is moving forward with the Drafthouse's bid of $10.6 million. Kahn has painted AISD's decision as fiscally irresponsible, despite the district having made clear from day one that the sale is not simply about the money. The Baker Center is one of 10 properties around the district that's classified as surplus, and AISD has been looking to either sell, lease, or find partner programs for them. Colina West, which has a reputation for large yet quiet acquisitions, wanted to turn Baker into offices. The Drafthouse eyes a remodel into a corporate campus, with additional creative spaces and low-cost housing for teachers (see "Drafthouse Eyes New Corporate Campus," Oct. 6). That larger plan is more in keeping with AISD's intentions for its surplus properties, which are to ensure future uses benefit the community as well as bring in extra revenue.

However, Kahn's suit may be predicated on a false notion: that is, that his proposal would have ever stood a chance within the neighborhood. The district has been trying to get Baker off its books for years, but Hyde Park residents have proven a major stumbling block to any plans. As a school district property, Baker is exempt from city planning rules. As soon as it is sold, any developer would have to apply to the city for zoning, and residents have made it very clear they would oppose any proposal that they did not like. The Alamo plan is the first one in decades that has seemed likely to get neighborhood buy-in.