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Historic board approves second storefront door at 516 Flores Ave. over staff objection
Summary
The Laredo Historic District Landmark Board voted to allow a new metal door on the front facade at 516 Flores Avenue, a change staff said would harm the building’s historic storefront character; the board approved the door 2-1 after hearing the applicant and staff and noting fire- and building-code requirements.
The Laredo Historic District Landmark Board voted to approve a new metal door on the front facade of 516 Flores Avenue, awarding approval for a second opening that staff had recommended denying.
The vote came after a public hearing in which the applicant said the second-floor space will be converted to apartments and that “for apartments over 4, we need two exits,” and after staff presented the board with the Laredo Land Development Code, the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, and the City of Laredo historic urban guidelines, which staff said counseled against cutting new openings on character-defining elevations.
Staff recommended denial, saying the proposed storefront door would “diminish the historic character of the building” and does not conform to the Secretary of the Interior standards and the City of Laredo historic urban guidelines. The staff presentation noted the property’s late-Victorian commercial style and said storefronts are character-defining elements that should not be obscured or altered.
Applicant Jamshid “Jimmy” Yarrow told the board the second-floor unit conversion requires two exits and described the project as part of an effort to bring residential uses to downtown. “The Second Floor is gonna be apartments. And for apartments over 4, we need to exits,” Yarrow said. He also said the project includes street-level restaurant space and that renovations have taken more than two years.
Board members who supported approval said they weighed historic preservation against downtown economic development and judged the proposal a modest change that could help activate the area. One board member who spoke in favor said the proposal “keeps the historic integrity of the building, while encouraging economic development in our downtown.”
The building department reviewed the proposed door and determined it complies with building standards, and the board heard that the fire department requires a noncombustible metal door for the exit. Staff also told the board an existing metal door on the left side of the facade appears to have been installed between 2019 and 2021 with no record of historic-board approval or a building permit; staff suggested, if the applicant agreed, the board consider both doors at once to avoid a separate application.
After closing the public hearing, a motion to approve the new (right-side) door and to have it match the existing door carried. The board’s vote was recorded as two in favor and one opposed; the motion carried.
The board’s approval does not remove other review or permitting requirements noted in the record: staff referenced prior actions at the site (historical-board items in 1997, and an April 2, 2024 City Council action that approved a double iron gate and restoration of seven second-level windows), and the record shows the building department and fire department approvals remain part of the implementation path. The applicant and staff discussed that, if approved, the door installation would be limited to the materials and design shown in the submitted renderings.
The board did not adopt changes to the City of Laredo historic urban guidelines or the Secretary of the Interior standards; the decision applies only to this application and to the specific design shown to the board.
