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Consultants tell Alpine Council Downtown district nomination is under review at state
Summary
Consultants for the City of Alpine said the Downtown Alpine National Register nomination and a separate nomination for Coker Field have been submitted to the Texas Historical Commission and are under review; staff expect a multi-month state review before a state board hearing.
Alice Munford Russell, a consultant with Post Oak, told the Alpine City Council on March 18 that the team submitted a draft National Register nomination for Coker Field and a determination of eligibility for the proposed Downtown Alpine Historic District to the Texas Historical Commission.
The consultant said the Coker Field nomination was placed in review at the Texas Historical Commission on March 12 and that THC typically takes about two months to review nominations. "We submitted the first draft of the National Register nomination last Monday," Russell said. She said THC’s review commonly involves one or two rounds of document revisions before the nomination reaches the State Board of Review and, eventually, the National Park Service for certification.
The consultant described a preliminary boundary for the downtown district that covers a core of historic-age buildings on both sides of the railroad and said the inventory lists 339 resources, of which 262 are considered contributing. Russell said the proposed period of significance runs from 1884, the oldest standing documented building, to 1975.
City staff and the consultant said they expanded the district boundary after prior council input, especially to include South Side resources and ethnically significant building practices such as adobe construction. Russell also asked property owners and residents to send historic photos or documents to a project email while staff complete the final draft.
Councilmembers asked whether federal-level staffing changes could delay NPS certification. Russell said state-level reviews were proceeding on schedule and that National Park Service staffing had not yet reduced the reviewers handling National Register nominations; she cautioned, however, that grant programs tied to federal funding could be more uncertain.
The consultant also said Post Oak had engaged with the school district on the Coker Field nomination because the field is owned by the school district, and that the nomination could open access to preservation grants and historic tax incentives for eligible, contributing properties.
The council did not take a formal vote on the nominations during the March 18 meeting; staff said they would return with next steps after THC provides feedback.
