Finalists for the 2020 President’s Awards Program were announced last week in Austin, and a Mineola structure was among those named.

For over 30 years the awards program, sponsored by the Texas Downtown Association (TDA), has recognized outstanding projects, places and people of Texas downtowns.

Tommy Warren’s building at 421 E. Broad St. is a finalist for Texas Downtown Association’s Best New Construction, competing among cities of population 50,000 or less.  

Warren’s building includes four suites: the office for Warren Construction & Design, BoxCar Ship-n-Print and Brit’s Blades (which is temporarily closed). 

During the project, upon learning about the city’s masonry zoning requirement, Warren altered his plans, going with a full brick exterior. The face of the building includes Cimarron bricks at ground level, Yukon at the top and incorporated a herringbone pattern. Hawaiian Lava stone was used for columns. Decorative details include metal awning tie-downs and sidewalk railings with a clean, new parking lot and sidewalk adding to the appearance. Construction was finished in late 2019. 

Warren commented that he had heard that building in the city was difficult due to the requirements, but he found the city’s requirements to be professional and reasonable. He enjoyed working with code enforcement officers and fire marshal and would like to build more in Mineola.

In addition to the attractive new structure, the property tax value has multiplied, and essential businesses are located in the center.  

“Tommy went over and above what he had to do,” City Fire Marshal David Madsen said. “He would tell us to tell him what was needed, and then he’d say `All right, I’ll do it.” 

The city’s Main Street manager and historic preservation officer, Doris Newman, submitted the building for the award.  

“Tommy could have just built a plain Jane strip center, but he didn’t,” Newman said. “This is an asset to our town, and it makes me proud to know that this is what people, especially visitors from out-of-town, see if they’re sitting outside at Jalapeno Tree while waiting for a table or eating an ice cream cone.” 

The other finalist is the Huddleston Building from Celina, population 12,775. The 104 entries were divided into Design or Achievement Awards. New construction was under the design category. 

Judges for design entries were Bill Hidell, Hidell and Associates Architects; David Newman, MESA Design Group; Marie Oehlerking-Read, Komatsu Architecture; Lynn Osgood, Civic Arts; and Chase Sparks, Freese & Nichols, Inc.

Winners will be announced virtually on the TDA Facebook page in a series of videos. The Design Awards will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at noon.