CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The 1914 Nueces County Courthouse continues to disintegrate, and so far, there has been no takers on trying to renovate it. County Judge Connie Scott said it’s now finally time to demolish it.
"There isn’t much we can do moving forward that we can do other than to demo the building, salvage some historical pieces in there,” Scott said.
The county judge is hoping to work with our local historical organization to get that done. That’s because back in 2002, the Texas Historical Commission agreed to pour a large amount of money into making emergency repairs to the structure that has sat empty since 1977.
That agreement meant it couldn’t be torn down until 2027.
"We’re stuck and bound to that covenant or they have to agree that we couldn't pay it back," Scott said. "Right now, the county can’t pay that back and then demo the building."
Kathy Wemer has an interest in the courthouse because it is a big part of the county's history. She’s also the chairman for the Nueces County Historical Commission.
"I’m not a big game player, but yeah, I would like to see something happen to remember our 1914 Courthouse," Wemer said.
When 3NEWS asked what she thought that would or could include, she said, "It could include several things, we need the money and the power behind it to get something done that we could remember it."
Scott says it doesn’t appear there’s anyone who is going to step forward and rehab the old courthouse which when built in 1914 cost $250,000. She said tearing it down may cost anywhere from 1 to 3 million dollars.
"I’ve been told that some of the costs to tear it down are pretty extravagant and I don’t think you’d ever be able to make the money back with what it’s going to cost to tear that building down," she said.
If the county can’t work out an agreement with the local historical folks, it might go to state lawmakers to get them to void their deal with the state historical commission.
"That would be something we're going to put on the legislative agenda to be discussed and hopefully we'll get some traction on that and move forward with that piece of property and repurpose it for the good of the community," Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney said.
Scott would like to see the demolition happen one way or another before the Harbor Bridge project is completed.