Elysium and 13th Floor Property Listed for Sale

701-713 Red River, the low-slung, iconically Austin building that currently hosts music venues the 13th Floor and Elysium, has been listed for sale on LoopNet. This is the first time in 80 years that the property has been available for sale, the listing claims, and values the dual parcels at $4.1 million.

J.B. Branton Jr. inherited the building from his mother in 1992, but the building has been in his family since at least the Thirties. J.B. Branton Sr. purchased it when the street was a haven for secondhand and antique stores. His shop, Snooper’s Paradise, was a favorite on the strip through the early Seventies. Shortly thereafter, each corner transitioned into live music spaces, which they’ve largely remained since, through the structure’s renumbered address and citywide cultural shifts. 

“That old building means a lot to me,” Branton Jr. tells the Chronicle. “I’m 82 years old now, and it’s time to give somebody else the opportunity.”  

He maintains that his decision has nothing to do with the tenants. “I couldn’t do any better than who I have,” he insists, praising the owners of Elysium and 13th Floor. Though he says he’s unsure who a new buyer could be, he hopes that the space stays music-centered.

“It’s important to keep that going I think,” he says, chuckling a bit as he cites the oft-repeated maxim: “We call ourselves the Live Music Capital, and if there aren’t live music venues we can’t really call it that.” 

13th Floor, the psych-rock venue named for Austin innovators 13th Floor Elevators by co-owners Nick Yaklin and Black Angels member Jake Garcia, has occupied 711 Red River since 2022. The bar and stage started out on East 12th in 2018 before replacing Beerland (briefly rebranded as Green Jay) in the northern side of the building. Neither owner could be reached for comment at the time of publication. Elysium, next door at 705 Red River, is a multi-Best of Austin winner celebrated as a goth and industrial mainstay and Eighties-inspired dance floor. John Wickham opened the spot in 2001 and declined to comment at this time. 

The real estate listing makes mention of another development on the street which upset local music fans last weekend and will undoubtedly trouble plans for South by Southwest 2027. 

“Gus’s Fried Chicken just purchased the property across Red River (710 Red River) so changes in the immediate area are in process,” the listing reads. 

710 Red River, home to bar and music venue Valhalla since 2010, was listed for sale in October 2025 and was scouted by several potential buyers before Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken sealed the deal and gave Valhalla co-owners Seth Levy and John Wickham 60 days to vacate the building.

“We had our chance to buy and we couldn’t afford it. That’s the saddest part,” Levy tells the Chronicle. Levy says he and Wickham have asked the new owners for a short extension to allow the venue to operate until Halloween, since shows have been booked there through the end of October, and give their team a little extra time to remove equipment and gear from the space. Levy says he’s hopeful their request will be granted, but he’s continuing a 60 day countdown – now 56 – on Instagram just in case. 

“It’s been amazing, some of the people that reached out and said stuff, which is so nice,” Levy says. He’ll consider relocating, but with a club to close and some debts to settle, the question of when, where, and how Valhalla could reopen feels far away for now. 

Such venue shakeups come at a difficult time for the Red River Cultural District. Marlow, a cocktail bar that was a part of the Downtown music hub for three years, also shut its doors earlier this month, celebrating its “last stand” on August 29. 

In a statement on the closures made on Instagram, the Red River Cultural District stated that “Our mission … is to help advocate for the independent businesses, venues, artists & people who make this neighborhood what it is – while bringing more patrons, resources & opportunities into the district to help keep its culture thriving. We are not giving up! We will continue to defend Red River!!!” 

This is a developing story. 

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