SAN ANTONIO - The Hot Wells could become a hot spot for visitors once again.
"It's a piece of history that people have been trying to do something about for the last 40 or 50 years, and it looks like we're finally going to get it done," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
A final signature from the property developer helps seal the deal for Bexar County's restoration of the Hot Wells property to transform it into a county park.
"We've gone out, we've changed the lot, taken possession," said Wolff.
"The hotel and spa came about in 1886 and it was a place where people came 'to take the waters' as they said. Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders have been here. All sorts of marvelous people have been to the Hot Wells property," said Yvonne Katz with the Hot Wells Conservancy.
The county will pitch in nearly $4 million, and use a $1 million Texas Parks and Wildlife grant to begin restoring the property and removing environmental concerns like lead and an underground tank.
RELATED | Deadline Approaches for Deal to Transform Ruins of Historic Hot Wells Hotel and Spa
"People will see what it was like back in the late 1800s when it was a major resort," Wolff said.
Once up and running, the nonprofit Hot Wells Conservancy will take over day-to-day functions, like educational outreach and fundraising.
"Global visitors will come to visit as they come to see our World Heritage Sites because we're just diagonally across the river from Mission San Jose," Katz said.
It's another feather in the cap for San Antonio's historic preservation efforts aimed at attracting visitors from across the world.
"We're finally getting some wheels moving. It's quite different than anything else the city or us have done," said Wolff.
As of now the county isn't wasting time starting the project. You will begin to see movement around the property within 30 days once the construction contract is finalized.