ALPINE — The Alpine Historical Association is pursuing a long-considered initiative to place a historic section of Downtown Alpine and Kokernot Field on the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation, if approved by Texas Historical Commission (THC) and National Park Service, will allow buildings 50 years or older within the district boundaries to apply for state and federal tax credits that can help subsidize the cost of rehabilitating historic structures. Being listed on the National Register of Historic Places does not involve any building restrictions, so property owners can renovate and change structures. However, applications for tax credits could require approval of certain changes — but applying for those credits would be entirely up to the building owners.
Alpine Historical Society Director Abbey Branch said the designation will help revitalize Downtown Alpine, increasing heritage tourism, jobs, and small business creation and sustainability — something top of mind as several businesses on Holland Avenue were destroyed in a devastating fire just last month.
“These are additional funds that can be used to improve not only the aesthetics of buildings, but also bring these buildings up to code, which is necessary, especially after that fire,” Branch said. “We’re very lucky that no one was injured.”
Branch said Kokernot Field is being included for its historical significance. The current home of the Alpine Cowboys baseball team, it was modeled after Wrigley Field and built by local rancher Herbert L. Kokernot in 1947. She said the structure is in need of upgrades to bathrooms, seats, the press box and more. “It is decaying, and we’ve got to begin to raise money and seek grants to improve Kokernot Field,” Branch said.
Branch went before the Alpine City Council Tuesday to ask for the use of hotel occupancy tax (HOT) dollars to hire a firm, Post Oak Preservation Solutions, to conduct a historic resources survey in Downtown Alpine, as well as Kokernot Field, which will help lead the way for nominating the areas to the National Register of Historic Places. “We’ve got to survey all of our architectural and historical resources before we can establish a district,” Branch said. The council discussed the proposal at length, including questions directed to Ellis Mumford-Russell with Post Oak Preservation Solutions, who outlined similar projects the firm has done in the past.
The council took no action on the item and elected to allow its HOT Committee, which advises the council on use of the tax money, to discuss the idea further, with the proposal scheduled to return to the council on August 6. Branch said the Alpine Historical Association plans to move ahead with the survey even if not funded by HOT, but she noted that HOT funds are frequently used to fund these surveys.
The survey’s boundaries include downtown Alpine as well as several blocks to the north and south, including approximately 150 to 200 structures, according to Post Oak. It is possible the entity will survey additional areas or recommend individual structures for listing outside of the historic district boundary. “The boundary that’s in here doesn’t need to be the final boundary,” Mumford-Russell told council members. “If we missed something big, then let’s take a look at it.”
In addition to the historical resources survey, the city will pay Post Oak to prepare and submit necessary proposals to the THC. Post Oak, a Texas-based firm with an office in El Paso, is also helping pursue listing on the National Register of Historic Places for the Holland Hotel, Maverick Inn and Hotel Limpia.
The total cost of the project is $31,250 for Downtown Alpine and $8,000 for Kokernot Field. Historic preservation is included in the legal uses for HOT revenue.
The process is likely to take a couple of years to complete, Branch said, and public meetings to educate citizens on the initiative will occur in the future. She said the Alpine Historical Association is aware of several municipalities across the state who have pursued national historic district designation from whom they can learn.
The Alpine Historical Association received around 10 letters of support for the national historic district designation project, Branch said, from business owners and Alpine ISD, which owns Kokernot Field.
Marfa already has a National Register listing, the Marfa Central Historic District, as well as several individual buildings on the register.