Property housing Austin venues Elysium and 13th Floor listed for sale

The building that houses the local staple music venues Elysium and the 13th Floor has been listed for sale. Though it is unclear what will become of the venues, this news surfaces days after neighboring Valhalla Tavern announced its impending closure and constitutes a major potential loss for fans of local live music.

A listing on LoopNet for 701-713 Red River St. makes it easy for anyone — interested buyers or otherwise — to see the sales pitch. The 8,200-square-foot property is currently listed for $4.1 million.

The summary boasts that this is the first time the property is available in more than 80 years. It also points out that it is surrounded by music venues (which constitute a large part of the Red River Cultural District), but there is no guarantee that whoever purchases the building will stick to the same purpose of use.

Elysium is known for hosting goth and industrial shows, while the 13th Floor — named after the '60s Austin band the 13th Floor Elevators — specializes in psych rock, punk, and the occasional experimental or otherwise hard-to-pin-down act.

Valhalla, located right across the street, is known primarily for rock shows and was founded by its current owner co-owner Seth Levy and Elysium owner John Wickham. Wickham is also the president of the Red River Cultural District, making this sudden real estate shakeup especially central as a threat — or an opportunity, on the optimistic side — to the core character of the area.

Levy announced August 29 that the building at 710 Red River St. had sold and that Valhalla will close October 26. He did not explain whether he had been given any options to stay. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, a Memphis chain that already has one location in Austin (117 San Jacinto Blvd.) was later revealed as the new owner of the building.

That's not all that's changing on Red River. Queer hotspot Cheer Up Charlies experienced a roller coaster at the end of 2025 when it almost closed, was to be sold to a national investment group, and then the sale fell through. This spring and summer, Empire Garage and Control Room closed following the eviction of Heard Entertainment and venue owner Stephen Sternschein.

However, neither of latter two cases were as straightforwardly related to real estate; both owning parties were very publicly lambasted for their business dealings.

Another change to the neighborhood is the late-2025 opening of Persian coffee shop and cocktail bar SipHaus (715 Red River St.), raising questions about whether business in the area is trending more toward food than music.

As of this article's publication, neither Elysium nor the 13th Floor have made announcements about their future.