Tax Credit Program Highlight: Hoya Fischer Building

Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County

1900

Designation	Listed in National Register as part of the Nacogdoches Downtown Historic District
Historic Use	Various commercial businesses
Current Use	Law offices
Total Rehabilitation Cost	$436,000
Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses	$436,000
Date Certified	April 13, 2017
	Also certified for Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits.

History

The Hoya-Fischer Building is one of many turn-of-the-century buildings constructed in downtown Nacogdoches by Charles Hoya. Born in Nacogdoches in 1848, Hoya was the fifth of nine children to German immigrant parents. He studied and worked as a land surveyor, becoming the only trusted surveyor in the county, and also assisted with local real estate transactions. The Hoya family owned several pieces of property downtown, which Charles developed circa 1900. The Hoya-Fischer Building was one of these, along with the adjacent corner building, both of which were designed by local architect Dietrich Rulfs. The building is not known for any long-term occupant, but was rented to a variety of commercial businesses over time. It currently houses a law firm, which undertook rehabilitation of the building.

Rehabilitation Project

The front of the building was encased in stucco, which resulted in destruction of brick corbeling in the parapet, and the interior had been divided into many small rooms. Due to the stucco slipcover, the building had been listed as a non-contributing resource in the National Register district. With the stucco removed and much of the historic masonry found intact, along with portions of the storefront, the building's status was changed to contributing. This is part of the approval process for Part 1/A applications for buildings with slipcovers or other non-historic alterations.

Brick work was rebuilt using historic photos. Cast iron columns and transom windows remained in place, and new doors and display windows were constructed to fill in missing parts. The canopy was also restored, leaving historic signage in place above.

Non-historic offices in the interior were removed and new offices were built out. Historic columns, floors, and ceilings were repaired. A hidden skylight was also restored.