The long, long, long-awaited redevelopment of the Texas & Pacific Warehouse on Lancaster is going before the Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission this month, seeking approval for changes to be made to the historic Art Deco structure. The list is as follows:

1. 343 residential spaces on floors 2-8 with additional residential space on the roof (floor 9) that includes removal of current mechanical equipment
2. Commercial space on the ground floor
3. Cleaning and rehabilitation of the existing brick façade and decorative elements
4. Restoration of existing steel frame windows in select locations
5. Installation of sympathetically designed windows into new, elongated window openings that will be cut into the existing brick walls
6. Restoration of existing overhead loading dock doors on the ground floor
7. Restoration of the existing concrete canopies and iron tension rods on the north elevation
8. Restoration of the existing metal fascia on the canopy at the southeast corner entry
9. Restoration of the exterior scupper covers
10. Installation of new membrane roofing
11. Addition of a retail walkway and seating areas on the north elevation below the existing canopy
12. Addition of new accessible ramps, stairs, and ground floor entries on the north elevation
13. Removal of overhead doors and adjacent brick pilasters in the central block of the north elevation for first floor vehicular traffic and pedestrian sidewalk through access
14. Addition of a bi-level parking garage (below and at grade) located to the rear of the building

The applicant is Gromatzky, Dupree & Associates, a Dallas-based architectural firm presumably hired by similarly Dallas-based Cleopatra Investments (the T&P Warehouse’s owner) to come up with plans for the redevelopment of the building. These plans must go to the Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission before anything else, as the building is a fully protected landmark.

The city has been pressuring the building’s owner to start redevelopment of the building or lose out on tax breaks – could it be that the building might finally start to see some redevelopment work soon? Getting the warehouse redeveloped would be a major boon for Lancaster and the rest of the south end of Downtown, so we will set phasers to “cautiously optimistic” on this one.