Southern Hotel Apartment Rehabilitation

ARG Construction completed the rehabilitation of the Southern Hotel, a three-story building constructed in 1910 in downtown Laredo. The project converted the former hotel into affordable housing for the City of Laredo. The building totals approximately 15,000 square feet.

The scope covered general rehabilitation of the existing structure and new construction required to support its new use as residential units. Work of this type requires balancing two obligations at once: preserving the character of a century-old building while bringing it up to current standards for life safety, accessibility, and habitability.

Adaptive reuse projects carry conditions that new construction does not. Existing conditions are rarely documented accurately, and what is behind a wall is not known until it is opened. Downtown sites limit staging, deliveries, and access. ARG Construction planned the work around those constraints and coordinated closely with the City of Laredo throughout the project.

The completed building now serves as affordable housing in downtown — a public asset returned to use rather than replaced.