Have Workmen Discovered Brownsville's Underground?

Concrete Cavity Beneath Floor

As work tentatively restarts on Mayor Tony's newest version of a downtown office on E. 11th Street, workers uncovered an unusual cemented cubicle beneath the flooring.

"Could this be Brownsville's underground?" I asked City Planner II Roman McAllen, who was thinking about where to go from here.  

"No, I don't think so," responded McAllen.  "We think this may simply have been used for storage, possibly grain."

609, 611 and 615 E. 11th Street

Work on the planned new "central office" for the mayor, along with a Brownsville Police Department substation in at 609, 611 and 615 E. 11th seemed to come to a halt after the City Commission wrist-slapped the mayor for dipping into the $3,060,000 AEP Texas Settlement Fund for his pet projects.  The dumpster was removed and the buildings were idle till yesterday, 3/24/14.  Now, things are stirring again.  A new sign on one of the windows mentions April 2014 as a completion target date.  That may be optimistic.  

BDRIC Office, 1101-A, E. Washington Street

Tony's original downtown office was, the building at 1101-A E. Washington, leased by the City of Brownsville October 8, 2013, has now been converted to the Brownsville Downtown Revitalization Information Center.  

To our knowledge, the building, a completely unnecessary expenditure because of substantial empty office space already owned my the city, has been used only once since being leased and remodeled at taxpayer expense.  

Mayor Tony Martinez

After a Public Information Request revealed this waste of taxpayer money by the mayor, he covertly converted it into an information center and ordered the remodel of the three E. 11th properties, purchased by the city for $41,000, $42,000 and $42,000 respectively.  Now, after a short sabbatical, that remodel seems to have resumed.