That vision is substantiated to a degree by a partially-completed report the Temple City Council received at a recent workshop meeting.
The report is being looked at for feasible uses of the downtown areas including the Hawn and Arcadia, the empty Professional Building (formerly the old SPJST building) across the street and the Sears Building on North Second Street near the other two buildings.
The study is being done by PKF Consulting and CDS Market Research, both of Houston. A separate parking study was done by Rich and Associates from Southfield, Mich. That completed report was also part of the council presentation.
The reports recommend a variety of possibilities for the Hawn, including using it as a boutique hotel or lofts and the attached Arcadia Theater building as a performance center.
The city-owned Sears Building, according to the report, could have a variety of uses, such as a children’s museum, rehearsal facilities, clubs, restaurants or even a parking garage. As a parking garage, the building could still house retail space, according to the study.
The former SPJST building, across the street from the Hawn, could be used in conjunction with it for apartments and condominiums. The study also envisions the pet store at Second and Adams could be redeveloped into for-sale condominiums.
The Hawn was built in the late 1920s as one of the first three “skyscrapers” in Temple, along with the Kyle Hotel and the SPJST Professional Building. In recent history, the status of the Hawn, originally known as the Doering Hotel, had been in limbo until the city purchased it.
Temple Mayor Bill Jones III said at the time of the purchase the city was eyeing the Hawn for its potential.
“I envision this as a very key component of our downtown development,” he said at the time, adding that the city needed to “get control of the building from a standpoint of health and safety.”
City officials have said costs for the suggested changes would likely be handled through public/private ventures.
In May 2007, the city received a proposal from Astin Redevelopment group of Bryan that shows the Hawn being put to use again as a full-service hotel, complete with a top floor ballroom and club area, in a possible public/private project.
The proposal includes full historic restoration of the exterior faces and complete interior remodeling. Although the Astin proposal references the attached Arcadia Theater and preserving its connectivity with the hotel, the company’s role would be limited to restoration of the hotel building.
Astin estimated at the time that it could make a capital investment of up to $10 million and requested incentives from the city, which could include conveyance of the building to the company by the city for a minimal amount and a tax abatement.
Jones said Astin required a feasibility study on the Hawn and across-the-street-parking as part of its proposal to the city. The city opted for an expanded study that included the other buildings on the block and in the area. The partially completed feasibility study presented to the council was a result of the study request.
Jones said the study, when it is completed, would give the city something to show the Astin company, which could lead to the next step of revitalizing downtown.
“All of this collectively gives us an idea that there is something there (downtown) that people might be willing to invest in - for us to revitalize downtown and for them to make a profit,” he said of people investing in downtown.
He said renovation of the large buildings involved in the study would culminate redevelopment that has been ongoing for the past six or seven years in downtown Temple, but that the work will also present the greatest challenges for the city.
“The Hawn and the SPJST building are the last pieces of renovating the core of our downtown, but they will be the biggest challenges we have had,” he said. “But when they are done … it will take our downtown to the next level and provide a stimulus for retailers and other businesses to locate in the downtown area.”
