Paggi House to reopen in late spring

Developers also choose local retail tenants for condo shops.

By M.B. Taboada

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Friday, February 08, 2008

The Paggi House, which has been closed since August 2006, is set to reopen with a new chef in late spring as part of a condominium and retail development.

The 160-year-old former plantation home will be a part of the 104-unit Bridges on the Park condominium development on Riverside Drive and Lamar Boulevard. Retails shops on the ground floor of the development are also expected to open soon.

The Paggi House will open in the spring with a new menu. The Bridges on the Park condo project was designed around the landmark house. Residents have begun moving into the units, and retail is coming soon.

Bob Gillett, operating partner of the Paggi House, said he plans to refinish the wood floors and have an expanded patio area that will seat 150 people, but "will try to keep it as original as possible."

"It's an incredible location," Gillett said of Paggi, which was built in the 1840s as a small carriage house and later was named for Michael Paggi, an Austin businessman. "It has a nice view of downtown, and it has a history of being a nicer restaurant in Austin."

Shane Stark, a graduate of New York's Culinary Institute of America and former executive chef at Kenichi, will be the new chef, Gillett said. The restaurant will operate as a small plate food concept (appetizers or main entrées in smaller portions) and wine bar.

Gillett said he hopes to start remodeling in three weeks, after the permit process with the city is completed. The Austin Historic Landmark Commission has approved the concept.

The developers, CLB Partners, designed the project around the Paggi House, said Bobby Nail, a partner in the Austin office of Dallas-based CLB Partners. The project will include an outdoor pool and courtyards.

About 9,000 square feet of street-level retail will begin opening in the next 60 days.

Tenants coming in March will include Bows + Arrows, which will sell men and women's clothing and home furnishings; Hill Country Running Company, a sports footwear and apparel store; and Lift, a coffee, juice and smoothie bar that will also serve food. Both Lift and the Paggi House will provide in-room or poolside service to the condominium residents, Nail said. The Paggi House also will offer residents catering service for dinner or parties.

In April, two other retailers will open: W3ll People, which will sell organic skin care products, and Viva Day Spa. All tenants have signed standard five-year leases.

"It's a whole residential development," Nail said of Bridges on the Park. "You have this retail on the bottom floor that will be sustained by a base of people who live in the community. The Paggi property having its historical significance makes it special."

The first residents began moving into Bridges on the Park in December. More than half of the condo units are sold, with the remaining priced from the $300,000s.

mtaboada@statesman.com; 912-2942