County eyeing Gainesville bank building; Court votes to list Kress for $1.5M

Mike Eads, Gainesville Daily Register, Texas
·2 min read

Jul. 29—Cooke County's plans to reshuffle its office space in downtown Gainesville took a twist this week.

The commissioners court voted Monday to pursue the possible purchase of the Prosperity Bank building on the east side of the courthouse square, while putting the Kress building on the square's northwest corner up for sale.

Prosperity Bank approached county officials about a possible sale of its building in the last several weeks, according to Precinct 1 Commissioner Gary Hollowell.

The talks are preliminary and no estimate was given of how much it would cost to renovate the bank to suit the county's needs. The property is valued at $850,000 on the county's current tax rolls.

Hollowell, Precinct Three Commissioner Adam Arndt and Cooke County Judge Steve Starnes all voted in favor of negotiating with the bank for the property. Precinct Two Commissioner Jason Snuggs and Precinct Four Commissioner Leon Klement voted against the move.

In a corresponding vote, the court voted 4-1 to list the Kress building — which the county purchased last year for $900,000 — on the market with Tierra Real Estate for $1.5 million. Commissioners have been discussing moving some county offices into the Kress building for months; presumably, the proceeds from that potential sale could finance the renovation of the Prosperity building for county use.

Hollowell told the Register that neither move is certain. He said buying the Prosperity property could give the county control of that entire block to consolidate its offices downtown and add public parking at Main and Rusk streets, where bank employees now park.

Klement voted against selling the Kress building.

"It's a bargain. You don't get it very often. We're going to throw it out the window," Klement told his colleagues during Monday's meeting.

Hollowell and Starnes defended exploring the market value of the Kress, and each pointed out that the county doesn't have to accept any offers. The building is currently valued at $1.2 million on the county's tax rolls. Tierra would receive a four percent commission on any sale.

Starnes, Klement and Snuggs did not respond to requests for comments, nor did Prosperity Bank officials.