| Spanish-style building being
constructed near zoo - Brownsville Park Plans Force
Rebuilding of Private Property
(Note from RG: This article doesn't say so, but I believe this a rails-to-trails project. The Burger Shack they had to tear down was located adjacent to a rail yard, which has since been moved out of the center of Brownsville. The "grassy knoll" in front of the new Federal Courthouse was the site of the rail yard.) September 12, 2003 By Alison Beshur The Brownsville Herald Brownsville, Texas http://www.brownsvilleherald.com To submit a Letter to the Editor: tgarcia@link.freedom.com A two-story steel frame breaks the picturesque vista of a grassy knoll leading from Expressway 77/83 to the U.S. Federal Courthouse on Harrison Street. What appears to be an eyesore of construction materials will be converted into a historically designed Spanish-style, border-brick building by the end of the year. But the 16,000-square-foot office building on Sixth Street wasn't constructed without a heap of headaches. The Diaz family, which has owned the property for about 30 years, did not originally have intentions of constructing the $1.5 million building. But after they could not obtain a permit for their original structure, the city mandated they put use to their land, Diaz said. They began construction on the new office and demolished the previous building. "We lost a lot of money trying to work with the city," said owner Leslie Yoste-Diaz, whose property faces the Gladys Porter Zoo. "It wasn't just money, it was time away from the children, time away from work for something that was ours to begin with." After investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the previous building -- former Jack's Burger Shack -- the city denied the Diaz family permits to lease the space to a California-based company. The city's intentions of using the land for a planned linear park forced the family into action, Diaz said. To protect their nearly 1-acre site from the city's interests, the Diaz family hired architects to design a building with 'Brownsvillesque' architecture -- a new requirement for building on the space. "They were attempting to force us to sell," said Diaz, who claims the city offered her $26,000. "They made plans with our property without even asking us." Adjacent to the new office building is city-owned property. Design plans are being drawn to create a nine-mile linear park that begins at the courthouse, zigzags by private property on the grassy knoll and ends up at the entrance to the Palo Alto Historic Battlefield. The Diaz's building should blend in well with the surroundings, said Peter Goodman, the city's historic downtown district director. Every detail of the structure's design, including the face-side of the brick, went through the Heritage Review Committee for approval, he said. Larry Brown, director of aviation for the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport and an administrator for the linear park, said the city didn't have plans to use the property for park space. A two-tiered canopy of trees, benches for tables and a pedestrian hike and bike trail is planned for the surrounding area. "I think the two will work really well together," Brown said. "There's nothing wrong with having a private company investment adjacent to the trail." http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ts_comments.php?id=53315_0_10_0_C Additional recommended reading: |