Great News.
Its a beautiful building and deserves the restoration.
County gets $3.4 million to renovate building
-
It’s watched over Main Plaza for more than a century, and long-awaited state funding came pouring in Friday to restore the Comal County Courthouse to its original 1898 condition.
The Texas Historical Commission awarded $3,438,000 to Comal County to refurbish the downtown courthouse, the second-largest amount given out this week to 20 Texas counties under the state’s historic courthouse restoration program.
“It’s the best news we’ve had in a long time, and I can’t tell you how happy I am,” said County Commissioner Jan Kennady. “It’s the crown jewel of our county, and now we can get it back to where it needs to be.”
The county missed out on courthouse restoration funding in 2008, narrowly falling short of the threshold on THC’s grading scale to receive grant money after lobbying for five years.
This time around, Kennady and Cherise Bell, the City of New Braunfels’ Historic Preservation Officer, worked with a courthouse preservation committee to convince the state that dilapidated facility was in need of repair.
“We had been working on this for so long, it’s really a blessing,” Kennady said. “The courthouse is filthy, moldy, has all kinds of structural problems and it’s time to do something about it,”
The state funding, along with $5.2 million issued by commissioners through certificates of obligation in 2008, will pay to give the courthouse a complete restoration — including fixing faulty plumbing and wiring, cleaning the entire facility and addressing structural needs that have been neglected for years, according to Kennady.
“We’re very pleased to finally get this money to help our downtown courthouse,” said Comal County Judge Danny Scheel.
Kennady expected bids to go out soon, and Scheel said the construction would likely take around two years to complete.
But since a petition drive has forced the construction of the proposed county justice center to go to a vote, Scheel said the county would have to find space for the employees working out of the courthouse while it’s being restored. That includes the offices of County Court at Law number two, the human resources department and offices that deal with probate cases.
Commissioners had initially planned for the justice center to be complete and able to house those offices while the courthouse was being refurbished.
“Because of the petition, we now have to find some space for them to work out of,” Scheel said.
A total of 44 counties applied to receive a portion of the $20 million in restoration funds given out Friday, and only La Salle County received more than Comal, being awarded $3.5 million.
“Our historic county courthouses are often the heart of communities throughout our state and the Texas Courthouse Preservation Program strives to preserve these temples of justice and remains dedicated to these important landmarks,” said Stan Graves in THC’s architecture division through a written statement.
And after years of effort, county leaders were pleased to be able to save one of the area’s most historic landmarks.
“This would have been our last chance to receive funding,” Kennady said. “This building really is the heart of our community, and now we can restore it back to its original glory.”
Grant funding given out:
County Amount La Salle $3,500,000 Comal $3,438,000 Hamilton $3,186,070 Franklin $2,125,000 Hardeman $1,955,000 Colorado $1,782,251 Lee $804,233 Karnes $617,886 Stephens $450,000 Navarro $394,741 Medina $371,928 Marion $318,260 Mason $307,791 Upshur $285,333 Hopkins $277,681 Fort Bend $271,047 Houston $238,300 Throckmorton $183,829 Edwards $99,333 Old Glasscock $72,646 total: $20,679,329
