Crit at University of Texas at Brownsville

MG'ers Christopher R. Collins, AIA and Hector Rene Garcia, Architect/Partner took part in a jury review of an infill project on South 17th in McAllen. The five week project was conducted by instructor Erick Darbo Diaz. Congratualtions to all!

Our Lady Of Guadalupe: Keeping History Intact

Article featured in The Monitor newspaper on February 11, 2013 regarding Mata-Garcia Architects renovation of Our Lady Of Guadalupe Catholic Church project. Photos and renderings by MGa.

MISSION – Drivers heading down Mission’s main drag in the last few weeks may have missed a familiar landmark looming above.

Workers took down the dome that adorns the top of one the area’s oldest churches near Conway Avenue as a part of the more than $2.5 million project to repair and expand the 86-year-old Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Crews removed the three ton dome with a large crane as students from the church’s Catholic school watched in awe about two weeks ago, said Father Roy Snipes, the pastor of the congregation.

The old wooden dome had termites, dry rot and other structural issues that could have caused it to collapse during strong winds, Snipes said. Without a reason to examine it, church leaders had no idea the dome was in such bad shape.

“It’s a real blessing (we decided to expand),” Snipes said. “There were a lot of things in the church that needed repair we didn't know about.”

The decision to expand came about after the ornate brick church with many stained glass windows could not support the growing population. The parish currently hosts eight weekend masses with between 500 to 600 people attending each one.

“We have a lot of new parishioners, from the old timers to the new ones,” said church member Arturo Guerra, who was baptized in the church when it first opened and has been a faithful member since. “At one time I used to know everybody, now I don’t know most of them. They’re all new.”

With the expansion the church will be about double the size and able to accommodate up to 1,000 people while keeping many of the same features.

The first Our Lady of Guadalupe was built in 1899 as a daughter church to the La Lomita mission, Snipes said. The wooden Our Lady of Guadalupe burnt down and the brick one was built. The famous black and white Calvary of Christ picture featuring priests belonging to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on horseback was taken in 1911 on the Our Lady of Guadalupe lot.

“It’s just been a different process to try to marry a new building to a historic building,” said George Noser, the owner of Noser Construction, which is completing the project.

The process involved researching to find the exact same tile to be laid on the new floors, finding very similar brick, expanding the altar and adding stained glass windows that depict the beginnings of the Catholic Church in Texas. It also means replacing the wooden dome with one made of durable fiberglass. The church will have new restrooms, replacing the one toilet that was only added about 20 years ago.

Snipes said the architect visited Austin to get recommendations from the Texas Historical Commission on how to add on to the church and keep its historical integrity intact.

In the end, the small details that keep the church the same and the big repairs have added up. Initially the congregation planned to spend about $2 million, which is what had been saved up, but then they had to borrow additional money from the Diocese of Brownsville.

“I think everyone is going to be real happy and we’re going to be real broke,” said Snipes as he toured the construction site with Noser and two of his many rescued dogs.

The goal is to be finished by Mother’s Day, about a year after the project began, but Snipes said he would be happy with Father’s Day or even later in the summer as well. He noted that some brides are eager for the project to finish so they can have weddings in the church.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has seen “hundreds and thousands of baptisms and weddings” and Snipes wants to keep those traditions alive for many years to come.  

“The ideal is when you drive up and walk in you will see what you always saw, it will just be roomier,” Snipes said.

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Gail Burkhardt covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor . 

de la Fuente Elementary School

Entry corridor with our interpretation of an "Escher" style floor pattern.

San Cristobal Magallanes y Companeros Parish Hall

Construction Documents have been completed and the project is set to go out to general contractor's this week. The Parish Hall is Phase One for the San Cristobal Magallanes y Companeros Catholic Church. The contemporary design incorporates details from the nearby St. Peter's Novitiate, built in 1908 by the Missionary Oblates. The 500 seat hall will serve as the parish church until the main church is built during Phase Two. In addition the facility will have support areas such as, the parish office, kitchen and concession area, restrooms and mechanical/utility areas.

Vanguard Academy - Update

The foundation has been poured for this 32,000 sq. ft. elementary school. The general contractor, OG Construction, now proceeds with the erection of the walls. This is a first for our firm in that it is an all wood-frame school. Completion Date schedule for May 19, 2013.

Giving Back to Our Communities

Please join our MGer's and renew your spirit of service and citizenship -- we're calling on all Valleyites - including you, to volunteer in your community on Saturday, January 19th, for this year's Day of Service. We will be active in the communities of Weslaco, Donna, San Juan, McAllen and Harlingen. Giving back, it's the right thing to do.

Mental Rest & Relaxation

Join our MG'ers for some mental R&R tonight in downtown Weslaco. Local favorites the Bongodogs will be the headliner's at Alfresco Weslaco. We will be there early to get our front row seats; join us! 

Truan Gym Update

The wood flooring was intalled this past week as the gym nears completion.

New Years Celebration: 31 Years Strong!

Join our family and staff at Opera Teatro Bar tonight as we celebrate the arrival of 2013. It promises to be an exciting 31st year for Mata-Garcia Architects and we plan to start it off with a bang. Join us!

Manuel Benavidez Jr. Housing Complex

12.27.12  article in The Monitor regarding Mata-Garcia Architects recent project for the Housing Authority of Starr County.           
Starr County Housing Authority Dedicates New Federally Funded Complex             

RIO GRANDE CITY — Photographs of 4-foot-high waters flooding a neighborhood line the hallway of the new headquarters for the Housing Authority of Starr County in Rio Grande City. The pictures of a July 2007 downpour and the subsequent flash flood that ruined much of the Housing Authority's complex of apartments on Circle Drive are reminders of a trying time that ultimately led to a happy ending. “It dumped about 22 inches of rain within a four-hour period,” said Elmo Moreno, the executive director of the Housing Authority. “The people lost everything. We lost everything.”

The flash flood is what did the complex in. The flood waters were strong enough to move refrigerators and stoves from one side of an apartment to the other. The city condemned the 34-unit housing complex and the residents were left to find somewhere else to live. The silver lining came about a year later. After much prodding from the Housing Authority of Starr County, the federal government promised $5.2 million to build a new complex. Before the flood, the Housing Authority had been trying for years to get money to build better housing because the units flooded every year. “It was an uphill battle; we got the same thing every time: ‘no money, no money, no money,’” Moreno said.

Earlier this month, the Housing Authority had the official dedication ceremony for the 34-unit, gated, 10-acre complex, naming it after someone who had fought the “uphill battle” until funding was secured. Manuel Benavidez Jr., the former president of the board of the Housing Authority, “wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” Moreno said. Even when he was going through chemotherapy treatments, Benavidez would travel to San Antonio to meet with representatives from U.S. Housing and Urban Development. “He was never letting up, and in the end, it paid off,” Moreno said.

Benavidez lost his battle with cancer in 2009, but his legacy will live on in the Manuel Benavidez Jr. Housing Complex on Charco Blanco Road. “I think our family is always amazed at the kind of gratitude the community has shown for his efforts, but more importantly we're just really happy (that) things he saw as ways to help the community have become a reality,” said Benavidez’s daughter, Rose Benavidez, who is now on the Housing Authority board and runs the Starr County Industrial Foundation.

Residents in the complex have to meet financial requirements to live there and pay rent on a sliding scale based on income, Moreno said. The apartments include hook-ups for driers and washers and are more spacious than the ones at the previous complex. More than 200 people applied to live in the 34 units. Residents moved into the new apartments in April.

Annais Gonzalez, a technician at a dialysis clinic, said the apartment allowed her to move out of her mother’s house after a divorce. She lives in a two-bedroom apartment with her 5-year-old daughter. “It’s awesome,” she said of the complex. “It’s perfect, very private. Everyone is super friendly around.” The complex is gated and security also roams the property, Moreno said. “We feel very safe, which is great,” Gonzalez said. Moreno said residents express pride in the community, many by decorating the inside and outside of the building and also participating in neighborhood events. Jesus Mireles has covered the walls of his one-bedroom apartment with photos of his children and grandchildren. Mireles, who is on disability and cannot work, said his family enjoys visiting on the weekends. “It’s a very nice place,” he said.

Gail Burkhardt covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at gburkhardt@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4462.

Holiday Gathering With Family, Friends, Clients!

Come join us for our annual Christmas Street Party at the corner of Texas Boulevard and 5th Street. We will have plenty of food, drink and blankets! The Weslaco Christmas Parade starts at 6:00 p.m. and should be at our intersection by 6:30 p.m.; afterwards we will walk over to Weslaco City Hall to enjoy the Weslaco High School Jazz Band and the Dean Canty Orchestra. Add another unforgettable night to our string of community events!

WHS Music Halls Update

Detail of lobby ceililing, taken by William Collins, at the Weslaco High School Music Halls project. The general contractor is working to complete the punch list by the end of the month.