A historic railroad ticket booth is on display at The Keller Depot, which is an up-and-coming event space in Old Town Keller. (Cody Thorn/Community Impact)
Entrepreneurs Ashley Stone Hernandez and Jamie Hurley held the first Nights on Bates in Old Town Keller Sept. 25. The event included music, food and local vendors and provided a glimpse of The Keller Depot.
Hernandez and Hurley purchased properties at 128 Bates St. and 136 Bates St. with plans to renovate both structures and have businesses occupy them.
That is another project by Hernandez in Old Town Keller. She owns 139 Olive, an event center. The Keller Depot properties share a fence line with that business.
The details
The locations were previously the Keller Station House & History Museum and Catherine Anne’s Books, though each has been vacant for more than three years, Hernandez said.
During the Sept. 15 Keller City Council meeting, a facade grant was approved for both locations to The Hive & Holding Co., the business that Hernandez and Hurley co-own.
The Keller Depot will turn the former Catherine Anne's Books store into The Jackson Cottage, a planned-use space for a dessert-type business. Cody Thorn/Community Impact
Hernandez said 128 Bates St. will be known as The Station House, an ode to the former train museum. The other space will be known as The Jackson Cottage. Each of the houses dates back at least 100 years, she said. The development could qualify for up to $30,000 in potential reimbursement through city grants, Keller Economic Developer Ana Erwin said.
Hernandez and Hurley hope to use one of the buildings for a coffee shop concept and the other would become a destination for a dessert business.
Between the two properties is a historic railroad ticket booth on loan from the Keller History Museum. The sign on the ticket booth said Interurban Lines, which connected Fort Worth to Dallas as well as Cleburne, Denison, Corsicana and Waco, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
What’s next
Hernandez said they will do landscaping on both properties and replace the grass in the backyards with turf to mirror what she has at 139 Olive. She envisions the back properties of The Jackson Cottage and The Station House will have a connection point to the event center.
“This will truly become a destination for gathering, connection, small business and unforgettable experiences,” Hernandez said.
She mentioned the proximity to Bates Street Park could create a festival street.
Hernandez said The Keller Depot will host National Night Out Oct. 6 with visits from Keller Police Department officers from 6:30-9 p.m.
Construction on the renovations for the two properties will start after that, she said. The goal is to have both buildings ready for leasing by December.
