By MARISSA BARNETT The Daily News
The Texas Historical Commission’s State Board of Review next month will decide whether the former Falstaff Brewery on Church Street in Galveston should be added to the National Register of Historical Places. The property’s owner sought a designation for it and submitted a 48-page application to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which the city reviewed.
The city’s Landmark Commission this week added a resolution of support for the designation to the application.
The Landmark Commission is required to review all nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and forward comments to the Texas Historical Commission’s National Register Programs Ofce, according to the city.
The building is in the midst of a major renovation.
Built in 1905, the property, 3302 Church St., had operated as a brewery until the 1980s. But after the 313,000-square-foot brewery closed and sat vacant for decades, the property deteriorated.
Jerome Karam, a Friendswood attorney and developer, bought the property in June 2015. Under Karam’s ownership, the property has been divided into four plats. Karam is developing a climate-controlled storage facility at the Falstaff site and earlier this year announced plans to create an event center on the fifth floor of the storage facility, in what was the former site of the Falstaff Brewery tasting room. He also has plans for a 98-room boutique hotel, he said.
The city council in March agreed to help fund Karam’s development of the property.
Under the arrangements, the city would refund up to 50 percent of the cost of reconstruction or rehabilitation of the development, City Manager Brian Maxwell said.
State law allows cities to create programs to promote economic development and commercial activity. The refunds are granted by freezing property tax values or waiving sales taxes due from the property for up to 20 years.
