City Council approves cultural district expansion, library master plan

Victoria City Hall
Advocate File Photo

Victoria Advocate
Kyle R. Cotton | Kcotton@vicad.com
April 5, 2023

The Victoria City Council approved the expansion of its cultural district and the library's new master plan Tuesday evening.

The city established its cultural district last year but held off applying to the Texas Commission on the Arts to recognize it to improve the application.

"We needed to establish the district first," Economic Development Director Danielle Williams said.

The commission recommended expansion from a 20-block area to a 36-block site to enhance the application and account for the substantial growth within the region, said Kate Garcia, Victoria Main Street manager.

The original 20-block area included the Leo J. Welder Center, Mitchell School, Memorial Square and the Nave Museum.

The expanded area adds the Five Points Museum of the Contemporary Arts, the South Texas Ballet Academy, a proposed maker space inside 120 Main Place, the intersection of Santa Rosa and Main Street and Nazareth Covent, which is a future museum site.

Last year the commission recommended the expansion along with establishing a governing board, a mission statement, a vision statement, a clear reporting mechanism for the district and being established for more than one year, Garcia said.

The district has established a board of advisors with local stakeholders working on a reporting mechanism, and the district has been established locally for more than a year, she said.

Once recognized by the commission, the district and the entities within will be eligible for grant funding to help with projects, Garcia said.

In other council business, the Council approved a new master plan for the Victoria Public Library.

The new plan is expected to guide the development of the library for the next 10-30 years.

Recommendations from the master plan were split into short-term, mid-term and long-term categories.

Short-term recommendations, which are one-to-three-year goals, included creating a reading porch on the library's West Goodwin Avenue side and a multipurpose programming garden. They also included adding study pods, expanding operational hours, adding technology for vending laptops and returns, creating a quiet room for reading and addressing exterior needs such as landscaping, safety and signage, according to a presentation.

Mid-term recommendations include building the Liberty Street parking lot, implementing a bookmobile for library services, and designing and building a “Victoria Connections” mall space.

Long-term recommendations focus on expanding the existing site, which was built with expansion in mind, according to the presentation.

Council members expressed concern the plan might be unrealistic without a price tag on the recommendations, but with the market the way it is, setting a firm project price tag at the master plan isn't possible, City Manager Jesús Garza said.

However, the staff has a general idea of what the short- and mid-term projects will cost and assured the Council that those items are achievable. It is just a matter of discussion, Garza said.