The Concord City Council could on Tuesday start the process to find someone to rehabilitate, use and maintain a historic building and grounds on the city's north side.
The council's Committee on Recreation, Cultural Affairs and Community Services had already asked city staff to prepare a "request for proposals" seeking qualified parties to rehabilitate the Don Fernando Pacheco Adobe building and grounds, on Grant Street near Olivera Road.
The adobe, built in the mid-1800s, is considered an important Concord historical landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The city acquired the building and surrounding property in 1979 from Contra Costa County with the proviso that the property be used "for the purposes of public park and recreation and for the preservation of the historical aspect of the site."
From 1940 until this past October, the Contra Costa Horsemen's Association had leased the property, maintaining it and using it for equestrian events.
According to a city staff report, the adobe building has experienced deterioration over time, including settlement, which has caused interior walls to buckle and crack. Foundation stabilization is necessary, as is retrofitting of unreinforced masonry consistent with the city building codes and historical building codes, together with other structural and aesthetic work. The city, the report says, doesn't have the money for this work.
Ideally, the city would have someone selected and ready to go in August.
Tuesday's Concord City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Concord City Hall, 1950 Parkside Drive.
