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Repurposing of Juan Seguin Campus officially underway

Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today


Repurposing of Juan Seguin Campus officially underway

(Seguin) — A building that has sat vacant for several years is finally being given the new life that it deserves. That’s all thanks to the congregation of Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church who has begun the renovation and repurpose of the former Juan Seguin Elementary School campus located on Dolle Avenue. The property is nestled along the Walnut Springs Hike and Bike Trail just west of the Seguin Police Department.

Spirit of Joy acquired the school as its home base at the end of 2019 from the Seguin ISD. Immediately after buying the property, the church went straight to work on the building’s future with Total Art Design and Architecture (TADA) of New Braunfels. The process of repurposing the Juan Seguin Campus is not only to serve as a permanent church home but to also provide building space for future community-focused organizations and programs for the underserved.

Among the congregation members helping to lead the renovation project is Chris Frels. Frels says neighbors and those passing by might have already started seeing some things take shape. In fact, he says folks will soon start witnessing the demolition of one of the buildings.

“If you go by the campus, you will see areas roped off. You’ll see plywood on windows. You’ll see debris being hauled away and that is all a part of maintaining the buildings and getting ready for the demolition of one building — the building on the northwest corner of the property. It’s a classroom wing that is closest to the walking trail and it was determined that it was in too bad of a shape really to repurpose it. So, that building will be coming down at the end of this month. That is the only building that we have any plans of demolishing at this time,” said Frels.

In the early 1900s, Juan Seguin is believed to have served as an “early model of a segregated urban school for children of Mexican heritage.” Due to its history and its fame of later having served several generations as a Seguin ISD elementary/pre-kindergarten campus, the church quickly realized the deep appreciation that the community had for the property.

Frels says the church wants to ensure the community that the whole campus will not be demolished. He again says this specific building that is coming down is not a central part of the history of that campus.  He says the church understands the full history and significance of the former school. He says it’s just one of those decisions that had to be made because of the deterioration of that particular building.


“We’ve meet with some of the community members in that neighborhood. We are very cognizant that that campus has pretty significant meaning to different people in the community and within Seguin proper, so we are trying to maintain that communication with those folks,” said Frels.

Frels says there’s been plenty of careful planning behind the building project and says while some things will start now, others, unfortunately, will have to be put on hold.

“Our timeline is that the auditorium building which we will use for our worship space and church offices and the old library building — both of those are on the west side of Dolle Street but we have those to be able to be utilized in about a year. That’s the plan. Of course, those buildings will remain in place. The west side, the older building with the historic plaque in front of it, all those will have to wait for a couple of things. One, we want to work with the community to see how those buildings can best be used and it’s also a financial concern for our Spirit of Joy,” said Frels.

Frels says other noted sections of the property will also have to wait a little while longer.

“The other classroom buildings on the opposite side of the street are in long term plans for us to hopefully be something that the community can utilize but those are plans that unfortunately, we are going to have to put off for two or three years,” said Frels.

In addition to the existing parking lot along Medlin, a parking lot will be added adjacent to the library after the demolition of the classroom annex building. The removal of this building, which suffered damage during a time of neglect, will open up land around to what the church says is a majestic live oak — the center point of an open courtyard. They say this will provide direct access of a new entrance tower from the parking space.

Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America founded in 2015. Pastor Megan D. Elliott serves as its pastor.

Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church wants to hear your stories and experiences of the old Juan Seguin campus. The church realizes it has touched so many lives in Seguin over the years. The church is looking for those stories and memories. What do you know about its history? What makes it special? The letters are part of the church’s cleanup work and renovation of the campus. Stories can be posted on its Juan Seguin Project Facebook page.

Frels says the renovation of the building is perfectly aligned with the stated purpose of the church which reads, “God works through us to welcome all into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, through Spirit-led worship, through loving our neighbors and through serving our community with a Spirit of Joy.”

“We see this building as an opportunity for us to continue our mission at Spirit of Joy which is to reach out and be inclusive of everyone and we want to work with the community to hear from them what they would like for these buildings to be — what  Spirit of Joy can be for them,” said Frels.

Frels says Spirit of Joy is especially excited about being a part of the Dolle Avenue neighborhood. He says they hope to continue their conversations with neighbors and those in the community and see how they can work together. He says updated information on the various buildings and the construction timelines are expected to be posted up at the building site for those wishing to learn more.