Katy Edition | March 2022

A community gathering place

History of a landmark Though the J.V. Cardi Rice Dryer on Hwy. 90 has been unmaintained for 26 years, it could soon house a community-focused gathering space and serve as an economic catalyst.

1944

The J.V. Cardi Rice Dryer, Texas’ rst concrete dryer, is built by John Victor Cardi, who purchases 2,000 acres near Hwy. 90. Katy’s low-lying ood plain was ideal for growing rice, and its location on the M-K-T Railroad helped export rice and import harvesting machinery.

Silos

Beer garden

Stage

Gazebos

Food hall

Green space

Vendors

P Parking

THIRD ST.

Property owner Andrew Nurcahya said the J.V. Cardi & Sons Rice Dryer property will host a three-story coworking, oce and food hall facility—as well as a beer garden and outdoor green space.

COURTESY KATY HERITAGE SOCIETY

The Katy Beer Garden will feature a cocktail bar, restrooms and indoor seating.

museum revenue, Nurcahya said he plans on rounding up every pur- chase made at the beer garden and food hall to the nearest dollar—giving those proceeds to the society as well. “There’s so many talented people here,” Davitz said. “Just to have a space with the historical background to host these small events in and to be able to bring people in is so important.” The vending will take place on the property’s West Yard. It will host farm- ers markets and crafts for sale. To fund the preservation eorts, Nurcahaya said he plans to rent the food hall and vending spaces to establish a revenue stream to support future projects. Historyof a landmark Though the rice dryer has not been used since 1996, they were once the crux of the town—driving the local economy, real estate and lifestyles, Davitz said. The J.V. Cardi Rice Dryer landmark consists of three groups of silos, each with dierent styles and elevations. The rst structure faces south toward Hwy. 90; it opened in 1944 as the rst concrete rice dryer in the country. The second silo structure faces the East Yard and was built in 1945. The third 177-foot-tall structure was built in 1966, according to Nurcahya. “That’s why it’s important to take care of the dryers—there’s so much history there,” Hastings said. “The dry- ers, when they were operating, were 24 hours a day with rice trucks coming in and out of Katy. They’ve just always been such a big part of Katy—so what- ever [Nurcahya] wants to do with [the dryer], I support it.” Brothers Charles Cromwell Cardi and John Victor Cardi helped settle Katy in the 1920s and 1930s, according to the history of CardiMiddle School, a Katy ISD school with their namesake. John V. Cardi purchased 2,000 acres north of Hwy. 90 for raising cattle and growing rice, while Charles Cardi

a three-story structure costing about $5.5 million. The rst oor will be a food hall featuring seven vendors and mostly local restaurants. The second oor will oer coworking space with meeting space on the third oor. East of the J.V. Cardi Rice Dryer, Nurcahya said he also plans to create community green space, featuring a projector screen, picnic tables, a play- ground and vending spaces. That area will be dubbed the East Yard. Katy Heritage Society President Adrienne Davitz said her favorite part of the preservation project will be the museum and gift shop elements, which Nurcahya said he would like to put inside the property’s garage. These project elements would be a collabora- tion with the society, he said. When it opens in 2023, the museum will focus on the history of the silos and the city. However, the project is pending permitting from the city and formal approval from the Katy Heri- tage Society, a nonprot with amission to further the educational and cultural development of Katy by preserving, restoring and displaying historical landmarks, documents and other Katy-centric objects, Davitz said. While a formal agreement has not yet been penned between the society and Nurcahya, he and Davitz said they hope to use the garage as a museum and gift shop with proceeds support- ing the nonprot and other preserva- tion eorts on the property. Nurcahya said he hopes to have an ocial agree- ment with the society this summer. “Right now, there’s nowhere in Katy to buy Katy garb,” Davitz said. “When we bring in family, we can’t go and buy anything with the name Katy on it.” Davitz said she is excited to have a community space with so much his- torical value. Nurcahya also plans on having a series of converted storage containers where vendors can rent space to sell goods. In addition to the

This three-story building will include a food hall on the rst oor, coworking space on the second oor and meeting space on the third oor. A museum and gift shop will be located on the property, showing the history of the landmark and the city.

Nurcahya plans to have each 50-foot concrete silo host a few white ne dining tables with views of the Katy sky above each silo.

UNION PACIFIC

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SOURCE: ANDREW NURCAHYACOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

“I took an extreme risk,” he said in an email. “[We had to worry about the] integrity of silos, environmental issues, purchasing it—therefore, it was an extremely discounted price.” Starting this year, the property will be trisected into 1 acre for a beer gar- den, another acre for the silos and the third acre for parking, pending permit- ting from the city of Katy. Construction will begin in August. The Katy Beer Garden—which will also oer wine and feature a cocktail bar—will cost about $1.7 million to build, Nurcahya said. It will feature approximately 800 spirits and 55 beer tabs. They originally wanted to make it the longest bar in Texas, but fell short by only 4 feet, he said. Construction on the garden will begin in August with Nurcahya planning to open the area to the public in spring 2023. Across from the beer garden will be

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remember as a very young child, com- ing down [the Katy Freeway], which wasn’t much of a road then, you knew you were outside Houston and xing [to] get where you were going.” A ‘crazy’ plan The J.V. Cardi & Sons Rice Dryer consists of three groups of silos, which are large cylindrical structures that once stored rice. The property, located at 5321 First St., has been mostly unmaintained for decades, and it posed safety hazardswith 30-foot falls, standing water and exposed rebar. Nurcahya purchased the property for $369,000, and he said he plans to spend more than $7.2 million to ren- ovate it. According to Nurcahya, the market rate is around $750,000 per acre in that area of Katy.

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