by Nicole Bradford
A historic building located on the Old Townsite property of a growing Montessori school could be moved and preserved.
“It’s going to be contingent, of course, on funding, a location to move the building to, the cost of moving the building — all those things come into play,” says Buck Stevens, treasurer for the Pearland Historical Society.
When researching a requested exception to Old Townsite building requirements for Horizon Montessori School, 2319 North Grand Blvd, city leaders discovered a 56 by 122-foot brick veneer building that fronts Broadway on the property’s southwest corner is on the historic registry.
“It’s a sound building. It’s in good condition,” Stevens said. “It would make a great beginning museum for the historical society.”
All that’s needed, he said, is a place to move it — and funds.
“At the end of the day, we may have to give it up,” he said.
Pearland High School opened at the site in 1937, and Alvin Community College occupied the property until 2015. Horizon opened a Montessori school there in 2018.
Since then, enrollment has continued to grow, prompting the school to fund improvements and expansions, including a new gymnasium building.
Non-residential buildings in Old Townsite typically must have at least 25 percent of their storefront windows on the ground floor.
Both Planning and Zoning and the city council opted to grant an exception for the school’s gymnasium, hoping the historic building could be researched and possibly preserved.
Stevens said Horizon’s leaders have been working with the historical society on a time frame to possibly relocate the old building.
“Their initial thought was they don’t want to destroy the building, but it does have to be moved in order for them to go forward with their project,” he said. “It’s just a matter of timing. Demolition is the very last resort.”
