Fredericksburg, Texas – The City of Fredericksburg, represented by Mayor Jeryl Hoover and City Manager Clinton Bailey, signed an amendment to the Ground Lease Agreement and a Contract of Sale with The Texas Hill Country Higher Education Development Foundation Friday.
“I am so glad we were able to accomplish this for lots of reasons,” Mayor Jeryl Hoover said. “Thank you to my City Council colleagues for working through this process with the HCUC board. This is a win for our City staff and for higher education in the Texas Hill Country. I am confident this move is good for the entire community.”
The signing wrapped up a nearly nine-month process to take full ownership of the facility formerly occupied by the Hill Country University Center with the intent to covert the 26,000 square foot space into the town’s new City Hall. The lease agreement between the two entities had commenced on January 1, 2008.
“This is a historic moment for our organization, our town and for the Texas Hill Country,” City Manager Clinton Bailey said. “I am excited to give our staff the space it needs to continue serving residents and visitors both now and in the future.”
The site at 2818 E. U.S. Hwy. 290 will be known going forward as the City of Fredericksburg’s East Campus, while the current City Hall building will become the Downtown Campus at 126 W. Main St. with expanded Fire/EMS capabilities and Police Department offices.
The purchase price of $10.5 million was funded through a pair of actions taken by Fredericksburg’s City Council – the issuance of Certificates of Tax and Limited Pledge Revenue Certificates of Obligation and the issuance of Utility System Revenue Bonds at its August 6 and August 20 regular meetings, respectively.
Over the next several months, plans for turning the facility from an educational space into a municipal building will be finalized. Current plans call for the building to have a community meeting space as well as new City Council chambers, which are currently at the Law Enforcement Center. Renovations will start as soon as plans are finalized, but the City intends to have public and internal meetings in the building during the planning and renovation process.
The City will offer quarterly updates on the organization’s progress toward the full transition to the East Campus and the new City Hall at FBGTX.org/1216/New-City-Hall.
To learn more about the City of Fredericksburg, go to FBGTX.org or contact City Hall at (830) 997-7521.
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