Brownsville, UTRGV and foundation team up to renovate San Fernando building

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The city of Brownsville, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the Clarissa Francis Foundation have entered a memorandum of understanding to renovate the San Fernando building in Market Square.

The renovated space will become the San Fernando Museum and will house the Stillman Reliquary.

The Brownsville City Commission approved the renovation project for the San Fernando Museum back in April 2024. Its goal is to revitalize the historic site as part of the Downtown Renaissance Master Plan.

Alan Guard, Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, says it's unknown how long the renovations and upgrades will take.

"It's always difficult to tell," Guard said. "Right now, it's been a little bit of a challenge getting crews together, but it is moving forward. I do know they're probably ready to start pouring concrete inside, and then they need to get some of the artisan-type skilled workers to help do the finish-out work. We're hoping to have the building at least far enough along in December to at least have a small pop-up exhibit."

UTRGV will assist with staffing and curating the displays, while the city will cover costs for climate control, special lighting, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The foundation is funding the renovation up to $750,000 and will maintain the Reliquary collection.

The San Fernando Museum project is part of a broader effort to rejuvenate downtown Brownsville. Other ongoing projects include the renovation of the El Jardin Hotel into affordable housing, expected to be completed in fall 2025, and the reopening of the Samano Building in October 2025, which will feature apartments and commercial spaces.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KVEO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KVEO staff before being published.