The shoring steel on the Graves Building in Downtown Cuero may soon come down if a general contractor signs on, according to Architexas Senior Associate Nicholas Melde.
“The priority is to remove the temporary steel shoring from Main Street as soon as possible,” Melde said in a recent email.
In February of 2023, a portion of the wall collapsed during renovation of the load-bearing masonry wall. Melde told city council in December of 2023 that the various modifications over the years had eroded the building’s structural integrity.
“Some of the structure shifted toward the front and we immediately called the shoring engineers and got them out here,” Melde told council. “That’s essentially how it sits today.”
At that meeting, Melde and Robert Oliver, owner of the building and chairman of the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum board, described the history of the building as well as the future plans.
Built in 1873 by John Graves, it served as a dry goods store. In 1897, Graves expanded the building to two storefronts with Buster Brown’s Blue Ribbon Shoes for sale.
In 1907, it was expanded to the three-bay storefront and had various commercial uses in front and back. In the 1940s, the second story of one of the interior spaces was removed to become a movie theater, called The Trot. Later the building became a dollar store.
Melde said the renovation will restore the building to the three-bay storefront of the 1907 period.
He said the first floor will have four separate retail spaces, two with access from Main Street and two with access from Railroad Street, one being a cafe.
Oliver said the second floor will offer furnished residential spaces of a studio apartment, as well as a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom apartment with 30-day leases. He said office spaces will also be included upstairs.
Back in December, the estimated timing of the restoration was for renovation work to begin in midsummer after a general contractor and permitting had occurred.
When contacted after workers were observed in the building, Melde said “A general contractor has not been selected, but we are trying to get them on board and on-site as soon as possible. The activity you are witnessing is likely the shoring contractor adding temporary framing to further stabilize the building so the mason can complete the demolition of the unstable load-bearing masonry and reconstruct it brick by brick.”
After the shoring steel comes down and the rebuild begins, Melde estimated that scaffolding will be in place for three months.
So maybe, just maybe, Santa will bring Cuero a Main Street – free of steel legs, jutting out and taking up space – just in time for Christmas.
