Historic Preservation and Adaptive Re-use
After
a $13 million renovation completed in 2000,
Laredo's crown jewel, the Hamilton Hotel, offers
165 affordable apartments to the community's
most vulnerable residents - elderly earning less than
$10,000 annually. Its restoration returned one of two
Laredo landmarks on the National Register of Historic
Places to its place as an admired, integral part of the
community. The project has strengthened the downtown
area as residents, their children and grandchildren shop,
eat, and attend parades, festivals and art activities. The
Hamilton restoration spurred unprecedented downtown
revitalization, including a cultural center, a pedestrian
mall, and renovation of the first bridge to Mexico and
surrounding riverfront. The Hamilton Hotel won the 2002
National Trust for Historic Preservation/U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary's
Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation
For more information, visit http://www.nationaltrust.org/news/docs/20020924_awards_hud.html.
