Court selects jail architect

After evaluating submitted bids for renovating the 1881 Old Jail and Courthouse, the Bandera County Commissioners’ Court selected Fisher Heck Architects to head the restoration project.

Bids came from four architectural companies based on a five-point criteria, and Fisher Heck Architects at the topped with 96 points. After the evaluation, scoring, and ranking session at the meeting of the court earlier this month the commissioners voted unanimously to authorize negotiations with Fisher Heck.

The scope of the proposed project, headed by Commissioner Jack Moseley, is to restore and redesign the location on 12th Street into the new home for the Bandera County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The project has taken many forms in the past, back to 2016 when the court voted on restoration as a way to impact tourism.

The court agreed in February to begin searching for a architect for the project Mosely told the Bulletin the project stalled because nobody was leased with previous plans.

“This is something we’ve been trying to get going for some time now,” he said. Voiced community concerns regarding the past project included the smaller space and less visibility compared to the CVB’s current location.

Judge Evans said during a February meeting of the court that the county has about $600,000 collected Hotel Occupancy Tax that could go toward the project.