Patrick Gallagher of Gallagher & Associates gave commissioners a progress update on the Alamo Plaza restoration and museum project, saying construction work is advancing at the Mission Gate/Plaza de Valero, the promenade, the Alamo Gardens, the Long Barracks and the new Museum & Visitor Center and Education Center. He said the Education Center is projected for substantial completion in December, with the museum operational in early 2026.

Gallagher said the promenade and Lower Paseo infrastructure are in place and that work on the Alamo Gardens is in bid review; the Long Barracks is in preconstruction services and archaeology around the church foundation continues. He told the commission the Museum & Visitor Center construction is making “incredible progress,” with basement foundations complete and steel for upper levels already in place. He said staff had released a contract worth $32,000,000 for the execution of exhibit fabrication and that casework manufacturing is being shifted to U.S.-based firms because of tariff and cost concerns for the originally planned European supplier.

Gallagher described plans for a coordinated off-site bus parking and drop-off system, noting buses will drop visitors near the new Collections Building and route to off-site parking to reduce congestion on-site. He also reported continuing site work for the hotels and streetscape and said reopening dates depend on completion of the museum and visitor center finishes.

Separately, THC staff presented two related AAB items for action. The Antiquities Advisory Board recommended the commission authorize an amendment to the existing historic buildings and structures permit for Alamo Hall (the Texas Cavalier Education Center) to allow construction of a rooftop trellis on a new addition adjacent to the historic building. Staff said the trellis will sit on new construction (not the historic fabric), will not be visible from the plaza promenade, and is designed in painted galvanized steel with tongue-and-groove decking under the solid portion. Commissioners on the AAB debated whether the trellis could be a precedent for future enclosures but ultimately voted to recommend the amendment; the full commission later approved the AAB recommendation.

The commission also approved a permit to preserve and repoint the Alamo Garden walls (constructed 1912'1915) using lime-based mortars and under the supervision of the Alamo conservator; the proposal includes an apprenticeship program to train masons in historic repointing methods. Staff said repointing work will extend to 12 inches below grade so as not to require archaeology permits.

The staff and contractor updates emphasized sequencing: finishing underground utilities and garden work, completing the Ed Center as an operational hub, installing exhibits and casework, and then finishing gardens and streetscape. For the museum interior, Gallagher said temporary AC is in place and interior finishing is progressing; the exhibit procurement marks the transition from construction to program installation. He said the Long Barracks will include a raised parapet that references a historic second story rather than a full reconstruction, and that digital interpretation tools will show visitors a recreation of the missing second level.

The commission’s actions formalize conservation work at the site and clear the way for exhibit installation and opening phases. The Alamo project team committed to continued project-level updates as final bids are awarded and exhibits are installed.