Back to life

Former S.H. Kress & Co. five-and-dime stores across the state have been refurbished for a number of ventures. Some now offer residential and commercial space. Other Texas Kress buildings have found new lives as a winery, an art gallery and an antique's store.

Kim Sparks said the vacant Lubbock Kress building, at 1109 Broadway, has not experienced the same renaissance.

“It made me sad," Sparks said. "You look up the Kress, and you see where they all are, what they’ve become. Except for Lubbock’s, it didn’t say anything. It needs to have life again.”

Sparks and her husband Michael, owners of Jux-Ta-Posh in the Depot Entertainment District, recently purchased the Kress building, with plans to revamp the structure but maintain its authenticity.

The couple will soon start refurbishing the department store and lease out some of the space. Burklee Hill, a winery from the Levelland area owned by Chace and Elizabeth Hill, is the first confirmed tenant and will have a tasting room on the right side of the first floor.

The Kress was built in Lubbock in 1932, according to A-J archives, and the store with 13 departments opened the following year. The business operated until 1975. Most recently, the building housed a Goodwill store. It has been vacant since 2011.

Sparks said some of the features of the building are gone, like the hanging lights in the showroom, but many of the other recognizable elements are in good shape, something antiques-fan Sparks was pleased to discover.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A Mission-Revival inspired edifice fronts the two-story building that also has a basement, reads the 1992 petition to designate the storefront as a landmark.

The Lubbock Kress was designed by longtime company architect Edward F. Sibbert, states the petition. The Kress Foundation website indicates the building is one of over 50 he designed from 1929-1944. Sibbert's designs were unique to the communities they were in, but all featured Art-Deco elements.

"Each Kress store was a gift of civic art to its community," reads the foundation website.

The building's unique style was part of its appeal, said new owner Sparks. The memories locals associate with the store was another key factor in the decision to buy the building.

“I’ve always loved the Kress building. There’s magic in there," Sparks said. "It’s beautiful. It’s not built like any other building in Lubbock.”

Sparks saw that same magic in her Depot District properties. Last year, the couple bought and renovated the new Jux-Ta-Posh location at 1701 Buddy Holly Ave. Michael Sparks, who is also a contractor, is currently renovating the second floor of the location to be leased-out office space.

The former KDAV radio station at 1716 Buddy Holly Ave. is also owned by The Sparks Family and is now the storefront of Ballyhoo Stix and Graphix, a decal design and printing business.

The time is right to invest in downtown, Michael Sparks said. It may take a few years to truly reap the benefits, he said, but being a part of a large revitalization effort is special. Carl Tepper, real estate agent who was part of the McDougal Companies team that sold the Kress to the couple, said the couple's skills and drive is what made them a great fit for the property.

“If it were any other part of town, there wouldn’t be this much excitement around it," Kim Sparks said. "There’s just something about the history, the soul, and potential of downtown.”

Jorge Quirino, special projects coordinator for LEDA and Market Lubbock, said private investors like the Sparks are the ones who have driven downtown redevelopment. He said projects of all sizes have inspired downtown business people to invest in their structures and hopes the renovation of the Kress will start a chain reaction.

"It's amazing to watch these property owners and what they're wanting to do," Quirino said. "The work they're doing, you can drive by and see life there now. I think the momentum is absolutely going in the direction it needs to."