City of New Braunfels waives fees for Sophienburg museum expansion

Due to rising property valuations throughout the city, board members of the nonprofit Sophienburg Memorial Association have requested and received waivers for costs associated with its expansion.

New Braunfels City Council on April 12 approved waivers for platting, permitting and development of a property located at 391 Magazine Ave.

That property is owned by the SMA and is adjacent to the Sophienburg Museum & Archives, which is also managed by the SMA and located at 401 W. Coll St.

A letter from the SMA to City Council states the structure that was formerly on the property at 391 Magazine Ave. has been removed due to disrepair, but the appraised value and resulting property taxes continue to strain the SMA’s finances.

“It is the desire of the Association to re-plat the property and take it into the rest of our non-profit campus, but the platting fees are exhorbitant for a non-profit,” the letter states.

The Sophienburg Museum and Archives sits on a hill overlooking New Braunfels—the site where Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels built the first local government building after founding the town in 1845, according to the SMA.

In 1926, a group of citizens purchased the property to construct a museum dedicated to the history of New Braunfels. In 1933, the Sophienburg Memorial Association was incorporated.