The City’s Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) has approved a new plan for a historic downtown building that would mark a major shift from a revitalization permit approved for the structure just two years ago.
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| This rendering shows what the building may look like after renovations, from the application filed with the Historic Landmark Commission. (www.elpasotexas.gov) |
The long-vacant Rogers Furniture building, located at 209 N. Stanton in downtown El Paso, currently has a boarded-up storefront on the ground level with painted or broken windows littering the facade of the upper floors. A strip of beige stonework moves laterally from just above the first level and continues onto the adjacent Newberry Building. The Rogers Furniture building was built in 1915.
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| Currently, the 1915 building has missing window panes, boarded up storefronts, and generally looks abandoned. |
The approved permit will allow demolition of the ground floor facade, installation of new storefronts, installation of new windows, and construction of a rooftop addition. The rendering of what the building may look like after renovations shows a red brick facade on the first floor with glass windows and storefronts along the sidewalk. A suspended awning spans the width of the building.
The architecture of the upper floors remains largely unchanged in the rendering. New windows are encased in the original openings. A rooftop addition has red walls in the image.
This is the second application the HLC has considered for the building in the last two years. Previous owner, River Oaks Properties of El Paso, won an appeal to the City Council in 2011 after the HLC denied its original application which included a request to completely demolish the main facade. The HLC found that the plans removed too many architectural features and was a missed opportunity to restore a Classical Revival building.
Plans at the time were to turn the vacant building into a 44-room hotel but were never realized. River Oaks sold the building to current owner, Hasieran LLC, in August of 2011. The structure is adjacent to the Martin Building which recently announced renovation plans.
The HLC approved the newest Certificate of Appropriateness for rehabilitation of the Rogers Furniture building in a 6-0 vote at its July 22, 2013 meeting.