HARLINGEN — The state will help preserve two of the Rio Grande Valley’s historic county courthouses.
The Texas Historical Commission has awarded “emergency grants” to Cameron and Willacy counties to help them repair their courthouses.
The commission awarded Cameron County $450,000 to help repair the courthouse’s terra cotta façade and flooding problem.
Part of the courthouse’s façade is deteriorating while rain is entering the building’s perimeter, County Administrator David Garcia said.
“We’re thankful,” Garcia said of the grant to preserve the three-story Texas Renaissance courthouse built in 1912. “We want to have the building available for many years to come.”
In Raymondville, officials have awaited years for state funding to help repair the mold-ridden courthouse.
Officials will use a $402,970 grant to try to stop the spread of moisture, which has led to standing water in the basement, high humidity levels and wide-spread mold in the Classical Revival courthouse completed in 1921.
“It’s great news,” said Sally Velasquez, the county’s consultant. “This is a structurly endangered courthouse. It is very grave that we address this so we don’t lose it totally.”
This year, the county requested a $750,000 state grant, which would have required the county fund a $750,000 match, to address the spread of mold.
