THE RESOURCE AND CRISIS CENTER OF GALVESTON COUNTY

RENOVATION + REHABILITATION
COMMERCIAL
COMPLETED 2019

The Resource & Crisis Center of Galveston County’s Campus is an adaptive reuse of an existing middle school campus that has been vacant since Hurricane Ike’s landfall in 2008. Originally a private catholic school, the campus spans an entire city block and houses a combination of Spanish Colonial/Gothic style buildings (including a 1949 Spanish Mediterranean Catholic church), mid-century schoolhouses, and various accessory buildings. A new, double height lobby addition connects one of the older buildings with a mid-century classroom building. The project site’s residential zoning designation would prohibit the project; however, the city’s Planned Unit Development zoning was sought to allow for the intended use, which involved several public city hearings. The project team led the client through the approval process and was able to successfully acquire the PUD commencing the two-year renovation. The campus provides services for the victims of family violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking within Galveston County. Facilities located on the site includes a 58-person women and children dormitory, cafeteria, daycare center, and common areas including outdoor leisure spaces and gardens shaded by large oak trees all located within a safe and secure perimeter. In addition to the shelter, the campus is fully staffed to provide services such as adult and child/youth therapy, legal aid, and sexual assault victim support to both residences of the shelter and non-residences on site.