BOERNE – The appeal of a boutique hotel just minutes away from The Boerne Mile grabbed the attention of city staff as they perused purchase offers for the old City Hall building on East Blanco Road.
City Council Aug. 8 emerged from executive session and voted unanimously to sell the 113-year-old facility to Ridan Inc. for the asking price of $2.5 million.
Ridan was one of three firms bidding on the 2.49 acres and 10,850 square-feet of space, which includes the two-story old City Hall and a two-room stone schoolhouse, built in 1874, located directly behind it.
The old City Hall building, built in 1910, originally served as a school until the city of Boerne bought it from Boerne ISD in 1951 to serve as City Hall. The building’s interior was remodeled several times over the years to accommodate a growing city staff.
The city used both buildings before moving to the new City Hall in 2020.
The city also dealt another piece of property, the former Public Works building, which was sold to Kendall County for $1.846 million. The sale includes 1.27 acres and the 7,390-square-foot Public Works building.
Also included in the sale are the Kuhlmann-King House and the Graham Building, both of which are Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks.
Chris Shadrock, city communications director, said the public works building housed the city’s utilites and engineering and mobility departments until the 2020 move into the new City Hall. Shortly after moving out, Das GreenHaus looked at it, he said, but renovation costs were too great, and they looked elsewhere.
Built in the mid-1960s, the building served as the community’s library. The city of Boerne took over the building and library operations in 1977. When the library was moved into the old Dienger Building in 1991, the Boerne Police Department began using the building as their headquarters until their new facility opened in 2010.
“They (Kendall County) needed it for more office space, similar to how we used it for a few decades,” Shadrock said. “They just need more (office) space. And it’s quite literally right across the street.”
The combined sales netted the city more than $3.34 million.
Both properties are within the city’s protected Historic District and subject to all regulations under current city ordinances.
“We appreciate being able to work with our partners at Kendall County and are glad the building will continue to serve the public and our community,” he added.
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