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Firm tied to Joe Rogan advances plans to develop Austin comedy club

Los Angeles-based firm to start renovating historic building on Sixth Street in April for Rogan’s venture in Austin.

Joe Rogan in front of the Ritz Theater in Austin (Getty Images, WhisperToMe/via Wikimedia Commons – Photo Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal)
Joe Rogan in front of the Ritz Theater in Austin (Getty Images, WhisperToMe/via Wikimedia Commons – Photo Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal)

A Los Angeles-based real estate firm with ties to comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan will soon transform a historic downtown Austin site into a comedy club.

Asylum Real Estate Holdings will begin renovation work in late April at 320 E. Sixth St. in Austin, known locally as The Ritz building, according to a March 18 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Asylum is managed by Matthew Lichtenberg, who represents Rogan at Level Four Business Management.

Rogan’s plans to get involved in the local entertainment scene have been the subject of speculation since he moved to Austin from California a few years ago, though his involvement in this redevelopment has not been confirmed. Rogan was previously looking to open a comedy club near his residence in West Austin, but those plans fell through.

The future club, dubbed “Comedy Mothership,” will be located in the party-heavy portion of Austin’s East Sixth Street and span roughly 5,900 square feet. The Ritz building was previously home to an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater from 2007 until its closure last year after the Austin-based chain filed for bankruptcy.

Renovation work on Comedy Mothership is expected to wrap up by the end of August and has an estimated price tag of $950,000, according to the TDLR filing.

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Last month, Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission signed off on new signage for the building under the comedy club plans. The Ritz was built in 1929 and was previously home to a music club, adult video theater and a shoe-repair shop.

Asylum purchased the 320 E. Sixth St. site last year from longtime owner Craddock Properties, according to Travis County property records. Officials with Asylum did not return requests for comment by publication time.

City permits link Austin-area general contractor Zapalac/Reed Construction and local design firm Weiss Architecture to the project.

Richard Weiss, president of Weiss Architecture, deferred comment to Asylum. Representatives of Zapalac/Reed did not return requests for comment by publication time.

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