State contributes $418M for massive Alamo project
A $400 million allocation for the Alamo by state lawmakers will ensure a vibrant future for the historic mission and battle site, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said Friday.
The Legislature set aside another $18 million in the two-year state budget to preserve and maintain the site, according to state documents.
Buckingham and Alamo officials are celebrating the appropriations as critical to finishing a massive public-private project that has been in discussion, planning and sometimes controversy for nearly a decade. The funds were secured when Gov. Greg Abbott signed the budget bill Sunday.
The money will support components of the project’s multifaceted master plan, including construction of a visitor center and museum set to open in 2027; renovations to Alamo Plaza and the Plaza de Valero; preservation of the mission-era Alamo Church; and repairs to the 1930s Alamo Cenotaph.
The Alamo was San Antonio’s first Spanish-Indigenous mission in the 1720s, later converted to a military outpost that became the site of the 1836 battle for Texas independence that made it known to people around the world as “a symbol of bravery and utmost sacrifice,” Buckingham said.
“Safeguarding this historical landmark is critically important to ensuring Texas’ rich history is properly honored, as well as shared with our schoolchildren and the millions of people who visit every year,” she said.
Buckingham is in her first year running the Texas General Land Office, which is partnering with the city of San Antonio and the nonprofit Alamo Trust on the Alamo project.
She thanked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, state Sen. Joan Huffman and Rep. Greg Bonnen for their roles in granting “our bold request” for Alamo funding. Huffman and Bonnen co-chaired a conference committee that finalized the budget.
“Our sacred Alamo is priceless, and I am thrilled the General Land Office and the Alamo Trust will soon be entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that this generous funding will be used to create an experience worthy of the sacrifices that took place at this revered site,” Buckingham said.
She also noted passage of a bill allowing the Land Office to commission qualifying Alamo Rangers, uniformed private security officers employed by the Alamo Trust, as peace officers. It takes effect Sept. 1 and will give rangers authority to detain or arrest a person breaking the law, rather than relying on San Antonio police to respond, according to a bill analysis.
The new funding allocations, detailed in a conference committee report, provide $18 million to preserve and maintain the Alamo and $400 million to implement the Alamo master plan, including operations. Alamo officials have said the $400 million includes $50 million for preservation and maintenance of the site’s two oldest structures, the Alamo Church and Long Barrack, dating to the 1700s.
Previous funding for the Alamo project has included three legislative appropriations totaling $150 million; $38 million from the city; $25 million in matching funds from Bexar County for the visitor center; and $50 million raised privately. The Alamo Trust plans to raise another $75 million for the project and a preservation and education endowment.
The project so far has included partial closure of nearby streets and construction of outdoor interpretive exhibits and the Ralston Family Collections Center, which has about 500 artifacts, documents and art pieces.
Along with the visitor center, future components of the project include construction of an education center; renovation of the Paseo del Alamo leading to the River Walk; and conversion of the Alamo’s 1930s gift shop, built for the Texas centennial, to a special events center.