Commission tables Museum design

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

(Courtesy photo) A rendering depicting a portion of one of two designs proposed for the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum is shown.

(Courtesy photo)
A rendering depicting a portion of one of two designs proposed for the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum is shown.

Design plans for the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum, which will front the ResacaWalk site along Business 77 and the resaca, have gone back to the drawing board after the San Benito City Commission this week opted to table the item.

Two Museum designs presented to the Commission at its regular meeting on Tuesday, July 15, consisted of the long-anticipated edifice shaped as accordion bellows. Members of the San Benito Museums Coalition – a group representing the interests of the Freddy Fender Museum, Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the San Benito History Museum – said that elected officials preferred to view more design options before making a decision on the building that will house their exhibits.

Ron Rogers, of the Freddy Fender Museum, said, “These were two conceptual designs that were up for Commission approval. It’s still in the discussion stage, but we’re sure that in 30 days or so we’ll have a final design that everybody can agree on.”

Rey Avila, President of the Texas Conjunto Music HOF and Museum, added, “We chose one that looked like an accordion, but the City Commission wanted a few more options.”

Discussions and actions on the proposed design for the Museum had already been tabled once, specifically at a special meeting on June 17.

Considered by Coalition members to be the “jewel” of the ResacaWalk project, designs presented to the Commission consisted of months of research that included an architectual survey, as well as a detailed history of the architecture of San Benito and the Rio Grande Valley. Also considered were five potential uses of the Museum, labeled Program A-E. Program A proposed a 12,640-square-foot facility dedicating 1,200 sq. ft. to each museum; Program B proposed 12,623 sq. ft.; Program C proposed 8,235 sq. ft.; Program D proposed 7,020 sq. ft.; and Program E proposed 4,793 sq. ft.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/07/18/headline-commission-tables-museum-design/

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