For the past several decades, Austin’s historic Sixth Street has offered a consistent nightlife experience – lined with shot bars and dance clubs, it’s the part of town where young people and tourists visit to, well, get messy. Often compared to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, Austinites don’t refer to the street as “Dirty Sixth” for nothing.
But, walking around Sixth in the middle of March, while the sun’s out, is a much different experience. People can be seen walking the nine blocks that make up this part of Austin’s Downtown entertainment district in numbers far greater than any typical afternoon. The many bars and few restaurants lining the street are more active than usual – thanks, in large part, to South by Southwest, which kicks into gear at this time of year.
That vibe is exactly what national real estate firm Stream Realty Partners is hoping to bring to Sixth year-round through a slate of renovations to the historic buildings that have existed on the street, in some cases, for more than a century. In addition to the Bourbon Street-style antics that have dominated the area for the past 20-30 years, Stream Senior Vice President Paul Bodenman says, the firm hopes to attract restaurants and retail businesses, and perhaps even apartments, in a bid to help Austinites “look at Sixth a little differently and see that it can be more than what it currently is.”
“It’s time for Sixth to really be focused on Austinites,” Bodenman told the Chronicle. “There’s no reason why one of the most historic streets in Austin shouldn’t cater to people at all times of day, and that doesn’t mean the shot bars currently there have to go away.”
Stream kicked their plan into action in 2019 when they began buying up Sixth Street properties (they now own more than 30 parcels on Sixth and adjacent streets) to renovate. Along the way, they’ve undertaken a campaign to rebrand Dirty Sixth to Old Sixth, which Bodenman hopes conveys Stream’s ultimate goal to Austinites – which he says is to preserve as much of the historic architecture of Sixth while “activating” it during the day with new businesses.
“Their whole deal is to make Sixth nice and that’s just going to kill the vibe.” – Brandon Burleson, owner of two Dirty Sixth bars
The preservation aspect of the Stream project is particularly important, Bodenman said. To that end, Stream hired Austin-based architectural firm Clayton Korte to handle structural and facade improvements to some of the Sixth Street buildings. Some of that work is underway now following approvals from the city’s Historic Landmark Commission, but preceding it, Bodenman said that Clayton Korte spent time studying the “architectural and cultural history” of the buildings and district to preserve as much of each individual building’s history as possible.
But not every business owner on the block is happy with the plans from their new, powerful neighbor. Some say – despite Stream’s reassurances – the transformation into Old Sixth will kill the scene in the district. “Their whole deal is to make Sixth nice and that’s just going to kill the vibe,” Brandon Burleson, owner of two Dirty Sixth bars (Soho Lounge and Pour Choices), told us.
Burleson says it’s been hard enough making it as a bar owner post-pandemic and post-inflation, and he feels that Stream’s plans won’t make it any easier. “My only hope is that other owners don’t sell out, so we can preserve what makes this part of the city special,” Burleson said. Either way, Stream’s planned transformation of Sixth has a long way to go. Bodenman hopes that Austinites will begin seeing what the change will look like soon, with new tenants occupying space in the restored buildings in 2026.
Another much more immediately noticeable change has taken place on Sixth – the Austin Police Department has reopened the street to automobiles during the typically chaotic weekend nighttime hours when the area is busiest (APD has decided to re-close the street during SXSW).
Prior to the change, which APD piloted at the end of last year and made permanent in January, Sixth Street from Brazos to Red River streets was closed to car traffic to make space for the thousands of (mostly) drunken visitors making their way from one bar to the next before stumbling home after last call. City officials have long sought to make Sixth safer at night, and following a high-profile shooting on the street in 2022 that resulted in 13 injuries and the death of one man, Doug Kantor, those plans took on new urgency.
In addition to plans for better lighting and more surveillance cameras, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis has opted to reopen Sixth to car traffic as a way of reducing the “street party culture” that results in public intoxication and fights. The department has also installed new fencelike barriers along the street to provide pedestrians with more space to get from bar to bar.
Early data from APD seems to show that the initiative has been a success. A memo published by Davis Feb. 28 shows dramatic reductions in assaults, arrests, and use of force by Austin police officers. The data is very preliminary, though, as it only compares the number of incidents in 2024 and 2025 from Jan. 1-Feb. 11, a period which Sixth Street bar owners note is, historically, a slow season. APD did not respond to our questions asking about injuries sustained by pedestrians through automobile traffic, so it is unclear if the change has made the street less safe for people walking around.
Burleson, the bar owner, isn’t a fan of this change to Sixth Street either. “It’s really hurting my business,” Burleson said. “People just aren’t walking by the bars as much. It’s going to really have an effect long-term.”
Editor’s note Thursday, March 13 2:40pm: A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that Stream Realty intends to build a hotel on Sixth Street. They were planning one in 2023, but that plan has been scrapped. The Chronicle regrets the error.
This article appears in March 14 • 2025.