San Juan city commissioners plan to demolish the old San Juan Hotel

4 months ago 113

SAN JUAN, Texas – San Juan City Commission plans to demolish the famous San Juan Hotel to make way for a new Downtown Conference Center.

The commission has awarded ERO Architects $40,000 to come up with a preliminary design for the new facility.

The issue was discussed at a City Commission meeting on January 23 and subsequently during a recent city commission workshop.

Here is what was said at the January meeting:

Topic:

Discussion and possible action to accept a proposal for the preliminary design for the Downtown Conference Center in the Amount of $40,000.

San Juan City Manager Benjamin Arjona introduced the topic. He said:

“This is having to do with the plan that we have in place for the downtown revitalization. It goes hand in hand as you know… about maybe acquiring the San Juan Hotel. Reaching out to the state agencies, the San Juan Hotel is not a property that is a landmark. So that makes it very easy for us to do pretty much what needs to be done there.

“I have been speaking to Mr. Brian about is… what the city needs is like a meeting/conference/event type of center. Multiple use, multi-purpose use. The reason that we are coming back with this here is, after speaking with Hollis and the staff, one of the things they require is shovel-ready projects before we can be considered for any type of grant. So having this here, with all the work and pretty much the design and all that, it will help us both to be (ready for) a possible grant if and when available.”

Brian A. Godinez, principal and CEO of ERO Architects, spoke on behalf of his company at the city commission meeting.

“So, I don’t know if you recall, this has been some years back but when you selected us as your architect for the city hall project, when we did our presentation we took a step further and wanted to show you how this could be the catalyst for your downtown growth. This is a few years back, before we even started the preliminary design of the city hall. But we took the liberty of planning out that entire city block area. And one of those spaces was a downtown conference center. So, it is nice to see that potentially happening.

“We have been kicking around some ideas of how to tie that building into the city hall. Again, preserving the history of the community and then looking forward as well. We even walked the site with Mr. Arjona. We looked at some elements that are still there at the hotel that we might be able to repurpose and use for the new conference center. Just to kind of keep and preserve the history of that corner with the hotel, in that new building.

“I will share a little bit of what we are thinking about. Mr. Arjona asked if we could have one large event room and then at the end of it would be the dais for you all to have your city commission meetings there. Have a small conference room, a warming kitchen area, as well as restrooms in the back for executive session meetings and private meetings for the city commission. And then adjoining that big space would be two smaller events spaces that would then have the main lobby area, with rest rooms. Again, a kitchen warming areas.

“So, it would definitely serve as a multipurpose (center). And now with the extension of the two properties together, that gives us a lot of latitude to be able to connect that corner to the city hall,” Godinez said.

Godinez said the new facility would be a “showpiece” for San Juan.

“We would go through programming with your staff and work with you all to let you know what we are thinking about that building. Eventually we will do some layouts, do some site plans. We will get down to cost estimates, schedules of construction and then do a couple of really nice renders of what the building could look like.”

Godinez was then asked, is the plan to demolish the San Juan Hotel. Godinez replied: “The idea is to demolish.”

About the San Juan Hotel

The San Juan Hotel is located at 125, Business 83, San Juan, Texas. It was built in 1919 and opened a year later. The 22-room guest house soon became a landmark building for the city, undergoing renovations in 1983. It included a cafe, dining room and patios. It closed in the 1990s and has now fallen into disrepair. Newspaper and magazine articles over the years have said the building is haunted.

The case against demolishing the San Juan Hotel

Gabriel Ozuna

Gabriel Ozuna is vice chairman of Hidalgo County Historical Commission and chair of its preservation committee. He previously worked for the City of Mission as its Historic Preservation Coordinator.

Ozuna attended a recent San Juan City Commission workshop that included discussion on plans to develop a Downtown Conference Center. Concerned that he might have inadvertently and unintentionally slighted ERO Architects at the workshop, Ozuna sent this email to ERO’s Godinez, with a CC to City Manager Arjona.

Hello Mr. Godinez,

Thank you for your phone call earlier today. I wanted to recap a bit of the conversation in case any details were lost in the exchange.

Again, I wish to reiterate that I never called you or your firm incompetent. I consider my professionalism an important aspect of my public efforts and would never resort to something as petty as badmouthing a person or group with whom I have a professional disagreement. If I misspoke and used “competency” as a poor synonym for “specialty” then I apologize for the misunderstanding. And to assuage any doubt on the matter, you can check the public record where I went on to praise ERO’s work on San Juan’s new city hall to the city commission.

I only meant to convey that some firms and architects are specialists in historic preservation, several of whom I have had conversations with, who disagree with your assessment that a standing building, foundation issues or otherwise, cannot be saved if there is a will to save it. I do not believe my characterization to be out of line, especially since you yourself admitted that ERO cannot save the building. It is my duty as a preservationist to make the city commission aware of the alternatives and urge them to seek another path for the San Juan Hotel that does not involve the demolition of a historic landmark.

I am not an architect, but neither am I a dilettante. I have reached out to the Texas Historical Commission, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Preservation Texas for advice and guidance on both the architectural and funding sides of the equation. At least one staff person from the THC has offered to come and address the city, in person, and present alternatives. I submitted and received documents from the City of San Juan relating to the condition of the San Juan Hotel, and requested any structural reports that support your claim. I received only a 2009 condition report and a more recent March 2024 asbestos report that your firm sponsored. If there is a more recent structural study that speaks to the foundation issues you mentioned on the phone, I have yet to receive them from the city.

And finally, I made the city aware of some of the potential consequences of demolishing the building if, as was mentioned during the city commission meeting of January 23, 2024, the city plans to pursue any federal grants or funds for the new conference center. They would run up against some serious problems with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and likely cut themselves off from a large potential funding source. Again, I felt that it was my duty to inform the city of the bigger picture and urge them to consider all their options.

I look forward to seeing you at upcoming meetings in San Juan and elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley. If you want to work together to help save our region’s crumbling and disappearing history, we would more than welcome the help.

Best,

Gabriel Ozuna

Editor’s Note: In our next edition we will include the perspective of San Juan Mayor Mario Garza.

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