It appears the Hostess House may be on its way to reopening by the end of the year, as the restoration project the city has been working on for several years nears completion.
On Tuesday, City Secretary Kayleigh Stanley said that after the council approved the bid at its last meeting for Arise Construction to complete the fire department connection, the city is only a few steps away from finishing the project.
The city held a bid opening at 2 p.m. Tuesday for the ADA parking lot paving work.
“Hopefully by year end we should pass all inspections and be able to open,” Stanley said.
The city secretary identified these steps as what needs to be done before the project is completed:
• Bathrooms are still being finished and will need to pass a plumbing final inspection and then a building final inspection.
• The fire department connection must be completed, followed by a fire inspection.
• The handicapaccessible parking lot will need to be completed and an ADA Compliance Inspection passed.
At a meeting in mid-May, the Lampasas City Council authorized the lifting of a stop work order on the Hostess House project and decided to OK upgrades to improve some of the structural components and continue with the renovation work.
The most recent structural review of the building by LOC Consultants didn’t find anything of significance that would present public safety concerns, Stanley said. The firm concluded that large community gatherings could be held safely in the Hostess House.
In April 2024, the City Council voted unanimously to award the bid for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Hostess House to ASD Contractors in an amount not to exceed $2,212,950.
As of Tuesday, Stanley said the estimated total cost of the project after change orders and additional costs were approved looks to be around $3.2 million.
Council member Edward Gold said during a candidate forum prior to his election that the Hostess House could be a popular site to attract weddings and potentially increase hotel occupancy tax funds, but the city needed first to verify the building was deemed safe for use. That has now been done in the final structural review by LOC Consultants.
At the mid-May City Council meeting, members were presented with three options for how to proceed with the Hostess House renovation.
The first option was to perform small upgrades to improve some structural components and continue with the renovation work. The second option involved a total, comprehensive structural upgrade of the entire building. The third option was to demolish the building and reconstruct it to according to code.
Erin Corbell, who was city manager at the time, told the council option two wasn’t financially viable for the city, and that option three wasn’t a good option either because of the money that already had been put into the renovation.
That discussion resulted in option one being chosen, bringing the project to where it stands currently.
After the last few items are completed and inspections take place, then residents can begin utilizing the historic Hostess House once again.