By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A major rehabilitation project of the city’s transportation depot building is complete, city
council members learned Tuesday.
City Purchasing Agent Luis Menchaca made a presentation about the project to the
council.
Menchaca said, “We have been working for a while on the rehabilitation project for the
Southern Transportation Depot, and right now is the perfect time to start referring to it by
the historical name by which (it was known), the Del Rio Southern Pacific Transportation
Depot.”
Menchaca began his presentation by sharing an excerpt from the registration form the
city’s consultants have submitted to include the depot on the National Register of
Historic Places:
“The Del Rio Southern Pacific Transportation Depot was completed in 1929 as a
replacement for an earlier wood combination depot constructed in 1884. The building
historically served as a gateway to the city and has remained a stop for the Sunset Limited passenger line almost continuously since the time of its construction. The
railroad and the depot opened the region to economic growth and served troops arriving
for service at Laughlin Army Air Base during World War II.
“For its past and ongoing importance to the development of the City of Del Rio and the
surrounding region, the building is eligible to the National Register in the area of
transportation at the local level.
“The building is an important and intact example of a county seat-type depot. County seat
depots were often constructed as substantial and high-style buildings dedicated to
passenger service and, as in Del Rio, typically included a spacious passenger waiting
area, U.S. Mail and package express services and exterior waiting rooms. The building is
the most significant example of the Spanish Mediterranean Revival Style in Del Rio, a
style popularized in Texas in the early 20 th Century by architects like Cass Gilbert in his
designs for the University of Texas at Austin.”
Menchaca next showed the council several photos of the deterioration of the building’s
wooden window frames and doors, as well as cracks in the ceiling of the interior foyer.
“All of that has been remediated as part of the rehabilitation project,” Menchaca told the
council.
Menchaca addressed the scope of work for the rehabilitation of the building.
In early 2024, the council approved the purchase of windows and doors totaling about
$430,000 for the facility. City staff at the time told council member the entire grant was
for $1,047,400, with about $600,000 of that to pay the general contractor, JESCO LLC.
“The initial scope of work was the installation of 20 windows and seven door units in
strict accordance with shop drawings prepared by the Pella window company. Work
began in early January 2025.
“I don’t know if you remember, in late 2024, the city council did approve a resolution for
us to move forward with the contract (for the work), and it was awarded to JESCO LLC,”
Menchaca added.
He said within two weeks of starting the work, JESCO “realized most of the building was
suffering from a termite infestation,” and a change order in the amount of $33,500 was
approved for a termite treatment of the entire building.
Menchaca said additional change orders approved during the course of the work on the
building were for the installation of panic bars, locking mechanisms and security bolt
hardware for the seven doors, the addition of frosted tint to two restrooms windows
inside the building and the repair of stucco on the building’s exterior.
He said all of the work was completed in April 2025.
Menchaca showed the council several photos of the newly-installed windows and doors, calling their appearance “a complete 180 from the way they looked before.”
He added the windows and doors were designed with an eye on maintaining their
historical flavor, but were constructed of modern materials.
Menchaca said city staff also repainted all of the benches outside the depot in a green to
match the building’s new doors and window frames.
Menchaca also gave the council an update on the building’s progress towards a place on
the National Register.
He said the state of Texas has issued a recommendation to the National Park Service for
final approval of the designation, and noted Able City, the company hired to do the
architectural and project management for the rehabilitation, had a subcontractor, HRTC
Services, a company specializing in historic preservation, that is working closely with the
city to obtain the designation.
Menchaca then invited city council members, staff and the public to attend a ribbon-
cutting ceremony at the facility on Thursday. (See separate story here.)
He also thanked the city’s partners in the rehabilitation, including TxDOT, Pella, Able
City and JESCO LLC.
“Good job, Mr. Menchaca, thank you very much,” Councilman J.P. Sanchez commented
following the presentation.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
