Old Burnet Bealls to be City Hall
The city of Burnet purchased the former Bealls building for $1 million for a future City Hall. Staff photo by Brigid Cooley
The city of Burnet inked a deal to purchase the old Bealls building on Polk Street for its new City Hall.
Burnet City Manager David Vaughn said the city closed on the building Wednesday, June 16, and now owns it.
“We paid $1 million for the building and anticipate that it will cost another $3 (million)-$4 million in renovation costs,” he said in an email.
Vaughn added that the next step is to hire an architect for the remodel design and then decide on the project’s construction management.
The city began looking for a new City Hall space earlier in June. The current facility, 1001 Buchanan Drive, suffered significant damage during the February winter storms. The city has leased the space since 2001.
Officials considered finding a building to renovate or constructing one from the ground up. Building a new City Hall would probably cost $6 million to $8 million, Vaughn said.
On June 11, the City Council approved a resolution authorizing the city to spend up to $1 million on the former Bealls, which is approximately 16,000 square feet.
The city can tap a mix of loans and excess cash reserves to fund the project, which could take up to 18 months to complete.
In 2020, Bealls’ parent company, Stage Stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which led to it closing a number of its stores, including those in Burnet and Marble Falls.