The 6,900-sf facility at 5100 E. Seventh St., is to be used for wedding receptions, parties and other events. Groups renting the hall will be able to bring their own alcohol to events.Rosa Santis of Austin will submit site and building plans to the city for the facility, which will go up on what is now a vacant lot. She plans to call it Plaza Amistad.

Santis sought to change the zoning to a commercial category that would allow alcohol sales in the banquet hall. The site had been zoned for industrial use. Neighborhood residents protested the banquet hall and alcohol sales, saying it would bring too much traffic to the area and alcohol too close to nearby Allan Elementary School.

Previously, the planning commission approved a zoning change that would allow banquet hall patrons to bring alcohol to events. Santis wanted to control alcohol sales at the facility by selling to customers. Either way, she still has to get permits from state authorities to allow alcohol to be served at the facility.