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Welcome to the hood, Dick Clark

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 04:00 PM

Our little neighborhood — the SoCo side of Bouldin — proudly claims its Michael Hsu masterpiece, the tree-studded 04 Complex that includes stacked lofts, Mars, By George, Cissi’s Market, Kid Genius — and mid-rise parking. Now we can expect a complementary structure down the street by Hsu’s former employer, Dick Clark, who will design the project on the other side of South Congress Avenue with hotel, two restaurants, retail courtyard, room for Hey Cupcake! — and below-surface parking.

SoCo and its utterly singular shops already magnetize tourists. If you’ve ever tried to book a room for out-of-town guests at the Hotel San Jose or Austin Motel, you know there’s a market for more. Bill Gurasich, co-owner of the Mansion at Judges’ Hill, is leading the way. (He was the missing link from previous reports about a hotel slotted for the parking lot owned by the Congress Avenue Baptist Church, which, I am forced to say, is pretty hideous, even for a Baptist church. Surely I’m not the first to point that out).

Neighbors rightly fear more encroachment into the quiet residential streets on either side of the SoCo strip. They remain on guard. But if there were ever a model for organic, indigenous retail development, South Congress Avenue is one. Let’s see, of the two or three national chains down there, one — Starbucks — has announced it’s leaving, which means 98 percent of the stuff is local. Of course, the angled parking is a nightmare, some sidewalks need urgent attention, and we’ll have to wait another 50 years to be included in any trolley plans after the light rail fiasco, but it’s glorious to walk the avenue every day.

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By Jeff Krolicki

December 27, 2008 11:52 PM | Link to this

Just to clarify the 1400 South Congress project was a joint venture between Michael Hsu Design Office and Dick Clark Architecture. As an associate of Dick Clark Architecture, I've had the opportunity to be Project Manager on both projects and in both cases the developers deserve much credit for allowing us to keep the project local and appropriate to the strip.