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Austin neighborhood field guide

Zilker

Get to know the local places, then explore what the public record says: construction, restaurant inspection scores and beverage receipts, with dates and sources beside the data.

About this mapped area City boundary · September 22, 2021

Zilker is one of 65 named areas in the City of Austin Neighborhood Planning Areas boundary dataset. The saved source records its planning status as suspended. These mapped categories differ from colloquial neighborhood names. Districts people name in conversation, like South Congress, Rainey Street or the Sixth Street entertainment district, are not separate areas in this dataset; they sit inside a planning area or straddle two. This boundary is a single polygon in the city's file, and the city last modified it on . The dataset stores the name as ZILKER.

The local field guide

Zilker: gardens, springs and a park with history

Zilker’s name connects a neighborhood and one of Austin’s major public parks. The city’s park and garden pages offer several distinct destinations, from themed gardens to Barton Springs, with a history shaped by land donations and New Deal-era work.

4 linked sources · Checked

A park built over generations

The city records Andrew Jackson Zilker’s land donations beginning in 1917 and major park development during the 1930s. Its history page describes the park’s later National Register recognition.[4]

Choose a garden landscape

Zilker Botanical Garden includes the Taniguchi Japanese Garden, a rose garden and the Hartman Prehistoric Garden, which interprets a Cretaceous-era plant habitat. Each offers a different focus for a visit.[3]

More than one destination

The city’s Zilker guide links Barton Springs Pool, the botanical garden, the nature center and trails. Decide which facility you want rather than treating the whole park as one activity.[2]

Plan a little better

Before you go

Check transport for the actual visit date
The park page publishes parking and transport information, including seasonal services and event-related arrangements. Confirm the current details before relying on a particular lot or shuttle.[2]
Use separate admission information
The botanical garden and pool have their own visitor arrangements. General park access does not establish admission, hours or parking rules for every facility.[2][3]

A few things to know

Is Zilker Botanical Garden just one undifferentiated garden?

No. The city describes distinct themed areas, including the Japanese, rose and prehistoric gardens, linked by a larger garden landscape.[3]

Are Zilker Park and the Zilker planning area the same boundary?

No. The park is a particular public destination, while this page’s civic data uses the saved city polygon named Zilker. Check the respective maps for each purpose.[2][1]

Sources & research notes

Local context is based on the sources below. Confirm current access, schedules, and reservations with the operator. Civic figures elsewhere on this page retain their own reporting periods.

  1. City of Austin Neighborhood Planning Area StatusCity of Austin · Checked 2026-09-05
  2. Zilker Metropolitan Park | Austin Parks and Recreation | AustinTexas.govCity of Austin · Checked 2026-09-05
  3. Zilker Botanical Garden | Austin Parks and Recreation | AustinTexas.govCity of Austin · Checked 2026-09-05
  4. Zilker Park Improvements | Austin Parks and Recreation | AustinTexas.govCity of Austin · Checked 2026-09-05

What the public record says about Zilker

  • City of Austin Development Services has issued 6,352 building permits that it has geocoded inside the Zilker planning-area boundary, the earliest dated February 3, 1978 and the most recent November 10, 2026, for a combined declared construction value of $1,793,783,273. Declared value is the figure an applicant puts on the permit application — not market value and not finished cost. Counted over every issue date in the city’s Issued Construction Permits dataset (3syk-w9eu), building permits only. Placing a permit inside a boundary needs a mapped coordinate, and about one building permit in seven (13.8% of them, as published on 2026-07-26) carries no location at all — those rows cannot be placed in any neighbourhood, here or anywhere else, so this is a count of geocoded permits rather than of every permit issued. How busy it is now is a different question, and the list below is the honest answer to it: the 25 most recently issued permits here were all issued since September 22, 2026.
  • The 7 most recent restaurant inspections we could place inside this boundary run from August 19, 2026 to September 29, 2026, averaging 90 out of 100. Austin Public Health publishes these in irregular batches, historically weeks after the visit, and this page lists at most 15 — so that count is the size of our list, not the number of restaurants in Zilker. A score is a single-visit snapshot.
  • Of the 100 highest-grossing mixed-beverage filers the Texas Comptroller lists for ZIP 78704, 78701, 78703, 78705, 78702, 6 sit inside this boundary. The newest filing in that set is October 2026. Per-venue figures are gross receipts reported to the Comptroller, summed over each venue’s own filing months — never a total for Zilker. Filings are monthly and land three to four weeks late.
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These controls filter the records already on this page. They do not re-query the agencies.

Map of the Zilker boundary

Loading the boundary map…

Boundary drawn from City of Austin Neighborhood Planning Areas, as last modified September 22, 2021. Markers are placed from geocoded street addresses, so a record whose address we cannot geocode is listed below but not pinned. The panels under the map are the full text equivalent.

Building permits

The 25 most recently issued inside this boundary (page limit 25)

2026-147000 BPActive
903 ETHEL ST
Pool and wood Deck
Nov 10New$155K declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-147000 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-146857 BPActive
801 S LAMAR BLVD
Installation of eight steel piles to prevent future downward movement of the slab for Existing Restaurant
Nov 9Remodel
City of Austin record for permit 2026-146857 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-144643 BPActive
2004 OXFORD AVE
Express: Repair damaged LVL beams and structural posts due to a roof leak on the back porch. Repair the roof and flashing; replace LVLs and any damaged posts.
Nov 6Repair$1 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-144643 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-106132 BPActive
2011 OXFORD AVE
New pool in backyard of existing residence
Nov 4New$1 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-106132 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-106131 BPActive
2011 OXFORD AVE
Addition of an outdoor kitchen cabana pergola in the backyard demo and repair existing stairs and pavers
Nov 4Addition and Remodel$1 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-106131 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-144152 BPActive
2002 OXFORD AVE
Total demo of sfr 884 sqft circa 1941
Nov 3Demolition$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-144152 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-144603 BPActive
1905 BLUE CREST DR
Inground Swimming Pool
Nov 3New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-144603 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-144153 BPActive
2002 OXFORD AVE
Total demo of sfr 557 sqft circa 1994
Nov 3Demolition$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-144153 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-138659 BPActive
803 AZIE MORTON RD
Express - Reroof
Oct 26Repair$1 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-138659 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-090325 BPActive
2005 DEXTER ST
Remodel addition to a single-family residence
Oct 26Addition and Remodel$1 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-090325 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-119799 BPActive
2019 FORD ST
New pool and spa
Oct 22New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-119799 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-117355 BPActive
2020 FORD ST
Total demo of sfr 890 sqft circa 1950
Oct 22Demolition$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-117355 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-135821 BPActive
2020 FORD ST
New Inground Pool
Oct 22New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-135821 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-135820 BPActive
2020 FORD ST
New construction build - single family house the attached garage and carport covered porch and outdoor living area 4/3.5
Oct 22New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-135820 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-124667 BPActive
1816 DYWER AVE
EXPRESS: Replacing 2 windows like for like
Oct 19Repair$1 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-124667 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-018773 BPActive
2632 S LAMAR BLVD
Demolish existing drive in canopy and replace existing grease trap
Oct 19Remodel
City of Austin record for permit 2026-018773 BP (opens in a new tab)
2025-157168 BPActive
1102 GARNER AVE
New pool/spa for single family residence. With plumbing permit.
Oct 15New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2025-157168 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-130449 BPActive
800 KINNEY AVE
ePlan: Residential Expedited Review - New Autofill/Heated pool. 800 KINNEY AVE
Oct 7New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-130449 BP (opens in a new tab)
2025-157167 BPActive
1102 GARNER AVE
ePlan: Residential Expedited Review - New construction of 2-story residence with covered patio 4 bedroom 4.5 bathroom.
Oct 7New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2025-157167 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-130447 BPActive
800 KINNEY AVE
ePlan: Residential Expedited Review - New construction of a 2-Story Single Family Res. [4bed 4bath] with Covered Porch Uncovered Wood deck entry and Attached Carport. 800 KINNEY AVE.
Oct 7New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-130447 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-127675 BPActive
1305 GARNER AVE
ePlan: Residential Expedited Review - New construction of a 2-Story Single Family Res. [4bed 4.5bath] with Covered Porch and Uncovered Wood deck.
Sep 30New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-127675 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-127890 BPActive
2103 KINNEY AVE
Pool- construction of a new pool and spa with associated improvements. 166 sf
Sep 29New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-127890 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-124306 BPActive
1712 VALERIA ST
Total demo of sfr 1000 sqft circa 1952
Sep 28Demolition$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-124306 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-124307 BPActive
1712 VALERIA ST
Total demo of sfr 600 sqft
Sep 28Demolition$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-124307 BP (opens in a new tab)
2026-124553 BPFinal
1707 BARTON SPRINGS RD
2026/10/02 - 2026/10/11 | Jumex is building a 20x20 temporary activation at Barton Springs Bike Rental 1707 Barton Springs Rd Austin TX 78704 on the following dates: Activation Dates: 24 Oct & 911 Oct Operating Hours: 11:00 AM 11:00 PM Load-in / Load-out: 28 Sep 1 Oct | 10:00 AM 7:00 PM There will be sampling of cocktails along with mocktail versions using Jumex Sparkling and the chamoy and Tajn garnishes. There will be a mixologist to create the drinks onsite using rum vodka and tequila as well as the mocktail version with Jumex Sparkling and sample distribution. All drinks will be free with no tip exchange involved. All staff will be TABC certified bartenders and . There will not be a DJ stage or amplified sound. We anticipate 35000 45000 people per day with 80 peak occupancy within the fixture.
Sep 22New$0 declared
City of Austin record for permit 2026-124553 BP (opens in a new tab)

Restaurant inspections

Austin Public Health · up to 15 most recent inside this boundary

Registered projects

Texas Dept. of Licensing & Regulation filings · up to 15 inside this boundary

Bars & restaurants filing receipts

Texas Comptroller mixed-beverage filers we placed inside this boundary

6 of 100 filers in ZIP 78704, 78701, 78703, 78705, 78702 placed inside this boundary. Each venue’s figure is its own gross receipts over its own filing months — there is deliberately no area total, because this is a sample, not a census.

Zilker: questions people actually ask

Is Zilker an official Austin neighborhood?

Zilker is one of 65 named areas in the City of Austin neighborhood-planning boundary dataset. Its status in the saved source is suspended. Inclusion in this file does not by itself mean a neighborhood plan was adopted. Well-known districts such as South Congress, Rainey Street and the Sixth Street entertainment district are not separate areas in this dataset; they sit inside a planning area, or straddle two. The Zilker boundary is a single polygon in the source file. The city last modified it on September 22, 2021.

How much construction is happening in Zilker?

City of Austin Development Services has issued 6,352 building permits that it has geocoded inside the Zilker planning-area boundary, the earliest dated February 3, 1978 and the most recent November 10, 2026, for a combined declared construction value of $1,793,783,273. Declared value is the figure the applicant put on the permit application, not market value or finished cost. Counted from the city's Issued Construction Permits dataset (3syk-w9eu), building permits only, over every issue date in that dataset. The boundary test needs a mapped coordinate, and about one building permit in seven (13.8% as published on 2026-07-26) carries no location, so those rows cannot be placed in any neighbourhood and are not in this figure.

What ZIP codes cover Zilker?

No ZIP code centroid falls inside the Zilker boundary, so we search the 5 nearest instead: 78704, 78701, 78703, 78705, 78702. We match ZIP codes to planning areas by testing each ZIP's centroid against the boundary polygon, so a large ZIP can overlap an area without its centre landing inside it. Use the boundary, not the ZIP, as the authority.