Facing rising costs to fully renovate the Santa Fe Railroad Depot, Pearland’s oldest surviving building, the city instead has approved a $232,366 contract to repair the structure for use as studio and storage space by its communications department.
“This (work) will shore it up, keep it from deteriorating further and make it accessible and usable for staff,” City Manager Clay Pearson said of the depot, which was built around the turn of the last century and was originally located beside the railroad tracks near Texas 35.
Previous plans to renovate the depot and convert it into a city museum/tourism center, complete with space to accommodate restrooms, a retail area and lobby, were dropped because of the pandemic and escalating costs.
Once started, the project by Generosity Services Inc. is expected to take 120 days. City Council approved the contract on Aug. 22.
Included will be work to level the foundation of the wooden structure and replace the roofing, wood floor, exterior decking and stairs. Other work will include painting the outside and inside of the building and the adjacent caboose, replacing the temperature-control system and doing electrical work.
The building, now off Liberty Drive near City Hall, has been vacant since sustaining damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008. For years before that, it housed Pearland Chamber of Commerce’s offices.
Plans to renovate and use the depot have been bandied about for years, and in late 2021 City Council approved $500,000 to renovate and return the depot to a “period-correct look.” The budget was based on pre-COVID project estimates.
However, in January, the city received a new estimate of between $1.5 million and $1.6 million for the work.
“When we revisited it, we consulted a new architect, given that it had been a period of time (since the last estimate), and that’s when we discovered the increase of costs and came to a crossroads,” said Joshua Lee, Pearland’s communications director.
In 2018, there were plans to spend $900,000 in a combination of city and donated funds for the proposed project to convert the depot into a Pearland-focused museum. The project would have included exterior renovation of the caboose and creation of an event space to accommodate 100 people.
The city promised $500,000 from revenue from its hotel tax, and the rest was to be donated through fundraisers organized by the Pearland Historical Society, including the sale of commemorative brick pavers that were to be used to create a walkway at the site.
However, when the city was set to update project costs in 2020, the pandemic forced it on the back burner and the donated money was returned. At that time, plans for the caboose renovation were scrapped, as well.
The city funds for the repairs now will come from a fund for capital improvements.
The depot is a registered landmark with the Texas Historical Commission and was the center of business and social activities in Pearland’s early days. It closed in 1972.