HARLINGEN — Call it the clean-up on Van Buren Avenue.
The Downtown Improvement District board voted Tuesday to contribute $1,000 to repair damages to the iconic La Placita arch, which spans Van Buren.
“A couple weeks ago the arch at La Placita had been hit and some of the bricks shattered and so it’s needing to be fixed,” said Alexis Alaniz, downtown director. “So our parks and recreation have asked if we can go ahead and put in something, of what we can, so that is a grant of $1,000 to fix it.”
“It’s already fixed,” she added. “If we can help in any way it would be $1,000.”
“Well, let’s not pay for it if it’s already fixed,” quipped board member Steve Aune.
“It was not fixed yesterday afternoon,” said board member Bill DeBrooke.
La Placita for decades has been a central location for Hispanic- owned businesses and entertainment in Harlingen.
It used to be within the downtown district, but the City Commission defunded the district in the 1970s — it was reconstituted in 1989 — after some business owners in La Placita pushed for its abolishment due to the additional taxes and restrictions inherent in being part of a historic district.
In 2017, current business owners in La Placita petitioned the downtown board to be readmitted to the downtown district.
