A seven-year, $7 million plan to renovate the exterior of the historically significant Bexar County Courthouse is underway.
County commissioners recently gave staff the OK to negotiate with a local architecture firm to develop a plan for renovations to the 128-year-old courthouse at 100 Dolorosa St.
Ford Powell & Carson (FPC) was selected from among seven bidders for the $3.7 million, two-phase project, which also includes assisting with bidding and negotiation and construction administrative services.
The scope of work to be undertaken by FPC includes developing design and construction documents for stone replacement, stone repair, terra-cotta replacement, mortar repointing and other restoration related to the Pecos red sandstone on the exterior of the courthouse.
It is estimated that part of the project will take about three years, said Dan Curry, department director for facilities management at the county.
After design services are completed, the county will seek a general contractor for construction. The full project will take up to seven years and costs an estimated $7.2 million.
The Bexar County Courthouse is the largest and oldest continuously operated historic courthouse in Texas and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses the district 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-era additions to the building. In 1999, the county completed a stabilization and groundwater mitigation 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 that project is $8 million.
