A seven-year, $7 million plan is currently underway to renovate the exterior of the historically significant Bexar County Courthouse.
County commissioners recently gave their staff permission to negotiate with a local architectural firm to develop a plan to renovate the 128-year-old courthouse at 100 Dolorosa Street.
Ford Powell & Carson (FPC) was selected from seven bidders for the $3.7 million, two-phase project, which also includes bidding and negotiation support and construction management services.
The scope of work to be undertaken by FPC includes the development of design and construction documents for stone replacement, stone repair, terra cotta replacement, mortar repair and other restorations related to the Pecos Red Sandstone on the exterior of the courthouse.
Part of the project is estimated to take about three years to complete, said Dan Curry, the county’s facilities management department director.
Once planning work is complete, the county will seek a general contractor for construction. The entire project will take up to seven years and cost an estimated $7.2 million.
The Bexar County Courthouse is the largest and oldest continuously operating historic courthouse in Texas and is listed as a National Historic Site. It houses the county courts, the Bexar County Clerk’s office, and the Bexar Heritage Center.
Designed by J. Riely Gordon and completed in 1896, the Romanesque Revival courthouse was last improved in 2016, when the county restored the historic west facade and removed two 1960s additions. In 1999, the county completed a stabilization and groundwater remediation project.
The adjacent Cadena Reeves Justice Center was completed in 1988.
In 2022, commissioners approved a plan to redevelop the aging Bexar County Annex building, 203 W. Nueva St., to create more office space for the county. The estimated cost of this project is $8 million.
