Brownsville Herald
Work continues on the renovation of the historic Cameron Hotel at Ninth and Washington streets into upscale luxury apartments upstairs, with high-end retail shops below.
The Cameron opened in 1928 as a travel lodge and has remained occupied in the years since. It originally had 32 hotel rooms upstairs, while the downstairs housed a Buick dealership, one of the nation’s first indoor automobile garages, the hotel office, lobby, a tea room, and barbershop.
The building looked much like it does today, based on historical photos provided by the new owners. The group intends to maintain and enhance the Cameron’s historical character, members said in an interview with The Brownsville Herald earlier this week.
“We’re renting the building to the hotel owner right now. … What we’re trying to do with this building is we really want it to be high-end luxury apartments, also with high-end tenants downstairs. The apartments are going to be top-notch, very nice. That’s the plan, a luxury apartment complex,” said builder Emmanuel Hernandez of EVH Construction, one of the eight family members and spouses who make up the investment group.
The investors, operating as the Historic Restoration Group, purchased the building from Brownsville’s Christiano family for an undisclosed amount.
The group has been approved by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation’s business improvement and growth fund for a $200,000 grant to develop the project.
Hernandez said renovation costs are expected to total $2.2 million.
He said renovation on the upstairs apartments and the former garage and retail area below will begin in earnest in November, although work on the apartments will be more meticulous because of the plumbing, flooring cabinets and other details.
The upstairs currently houses 34 hotel rooms, some with community bathrooms. There is a central terrace.
“We’re going to re-use the existing windows, they’re 100 years old and even the pulleys work on them. Obviously, we’re going to meet the current code, but we’re going to keep everything we can. It is 10 apartment units, three two-bedroom and seven one-bedroom,” Hernandez said.
According to an historical narrative the investors had written about the building, the original owners, the A.A. Browne family, “brought in the famed Spanish revival architect W.D. Van Siclen, who had already made his mark designing and creating the building aesthetic of cities like Seattle, Washington, and more notably, San Jose, California,” where Spanish revival architecture can be seen to this day.
“Not only is Van Siclen responsible for bringing the mission revival style to the Cameron Hotel, his design elements are reflected throughout the entire downtown area and are culturally relevant to the city.
The building looked much like it does today, based on historical photos provided by the new owners. The group intends to maintain and enhance the Cameron’s historical character, members said in an interview with The Brownsville Herald earlier this week.
“We’re renting the building to the hotel owner right now. … What we’re trying to do with this building is we really want it to be high-end luxury apartments, also with high-end tenants downstairs. The apartments are going to be top-notch, very nice. That’s the plan, a luxury apartment complex,” said builder Emmanuel Hernandez of EVH Construction, one of the eight family members and spouses who make up the investment group.
The investors, operating as the Historic Restoration Group, purchased the building from Brownsville’s Christiano family for an undisclosed amount.
The group has been approved by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation’s business improvement and growth fund for a $200,000 grant to develop the project.
Hernandez said renovation costs are expected to total $2.2 million.
He said renovation on the upstairs apartments and the former garage and retail area below will begin in earnest in November, although work on the apartments will be more meticulous because of the plumbing, flooring cabinets and other details.
The upstairs currently houses 34 hotel rooms, some with community bathrooms. There is a central terrace.
“We’re going to re-use the existing windows, they’re 100 years old and even the pulleys work on them. Obviously, we’re going to meet the current code, but we’re going to keep everything we can. It is 10 apartment units, three two-bedroom and seven one-bedroom,” Hernandez said.
According to an historical narrative the investors had written about the building, the original owners, the A.A. Browne family, “brought in the famed Spanish revival architect W.D. Van Siclen, who had already made his mark designing and creating the building aesthetic of cities like Seattle, Washington, and more notably, San Jose, California,” where Spanish revival architecture can be seen to this day.
“Not only is Van Siclen responsible for bringing the mission revival style to the Cameron Hotel, his design elements are reflected throughout the entire downtown area and are culturally relevant to the city.
Several buildings designed by Van Siclen in Brownsville, including his personal residence on 537 W. 18th Street, the first offices for The Brownsville Herald on 509 W. Levee Street, and the now-shuttered Resaca Elementary School located on 901 E. Fillmore Street are all in the neo-Renaissance mission revival style.
23 comments:
The Trump/GOP shutdown continues. Mike Johnson refuses to confirm the
Arizona representative. This is all about protecting Trump from the evidence
contained in the Epstein files. The party of law and order covering up the
largest pedophile case in America. Let the cards fall where they may. Evidence may implicate people on both sides of the aisle. Fantastic. I have no pity for chomos. The government is supposed to work for We The People. "It's funny how one insect, can damage so much grain."
Fucked some of the city's beauties there in the 1990s.
I see
Diego lee rot
He's back
at
shitty poetry
Most give
him
a pass
I'll
kick
his ass. . . . . .
Fucking Biden was bathing with his teenage daughter, the sicko, and you stand on your soap box about Democrats. Stupidity at its best!
Donald Trump, bajo presión de asesores para que EU haga operaciones encubiertas en Venezuela
Ayer, como medida de presión al país que gobierna Nicolás Maduro, helicópteros estadunidenses de fuerzas especiales de guerra sobrevolaron Venezuela.
Know this: The MAGA movement is not fed by conservative ideas but by a nihilistic, apocalyptic determination to stage a counterrevolution against the Sixties, against liberalism, against even democracy itself.
George Santos' prison sentence has been commuted by Trump. The party of
Law and Order. 11:49 Share some of that MAGA porn. Cultist.
Republicans need a scapegoat. Republicans need to blame Biden. Republicans need to blame Democrats. Why? They need to be the Law. They need to tell Americans what to think.
The MAGA movement is designed by the rich to create more distance between the millionaires and the poor. The USA is the only country that has done this. Other countries have shared the wealth with the poor to advance their culture, their history and their well being. Poor people can not buy much.
Looks great but the morons removed the pedestrian traffic signal at that corner and haven't put it back
So peds keep getting in the way
Not to mention the street is taking forever to fix
The communist party should be working on improving the lives of the American people instead of concentration solely on the Epstein files. Previous investigations have shown that Trump is not named in these files yet the communist continue with their witch hunt much like the Russian Collusion and the lie that Biden was in the best of health.
MAGA is a movement to save the population from the communist party. If not for our great president we would be on our way to being governed Xi Jinping
If the communist party refused to sign a clear resolution bill how does that fall under Trump? Who said the longer the shutdown lasts the stronger our communist party becomes? Not the Republicans.
Stupid people are those that are easily indoctrinated. Here in the Valley we call them democrats.
Freeing his friends
Epstein should of waited it out
The release of the Epstein files was a campaign promise to the MAGA lemmings. 5:32. Pam Bondi told Trump that his name was in the files on numerous occasions. So cut the BS. Call the Democrats communists all day long. But they don’t protect pedophiles.
The US has a communist party?
7:12 AM
Sure, it is the fault of the "communist party." After all the "communist party" controls the house and the Senate. Furthermore, don't forget that schools can perform sex change operations within 8 hours.
What you state is 100% spot on, in the fake news media.
I think of the indoctrinated as Trumpers. How the Trumpers eat his fart filled shit burgers is unbelievable. "They are eating the dogs. They are eating the cats."
Better a communist than a pedophile lover. MAGA mierda.
Cameroach Hotel
Very nice property.
Good investment.
Was this the property that was taken away from an old lady for peanuts? Then the narrative changed and it was said that all was good. So easy to forget all the modern history of Brownsville. Was the buyer Trey Mendez? I am confused.
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