BROWNSVILLE, Texas — There is no place like home.

After 18 months, the Brownsville Navigation District and Port of Brownsville staff returns to their home in the completely repurposed and enlarged administration office campus at 1000 Foust Road.

In January 2017, the port’s administrative offices were temporary relocated to the Keppel AmFELS complex at 20000 SH 48 while the port’s main building underwent a needed renovation and expansion.

The renovated office campus adds 12,473 square feet of new office space for a total of 26,500 square feet. The project included remodeling the two existing pods, adding a third pod, and building a new office adjacent to the port’s Foust Road entrance to accommodate a truck permitting office with a truck staging area and a modern records facility.

The repurposed offices have been completely gutted, retrofitted and cost-effectively modernized to accommodate current and future communications and technology demands. The new third pod includes a commission chamber and public room that will house the Brownsville Navigation District Commission meetings. The building also includes a special area dedicated to preserve the port’s past with historic maritime memorabilia and port photos.

This is the second renovation done to the old building complex, constructed in 1973. The building previously underwent an expansion in 1983.

Brownsville Architect Roberto J. Ruiz was selected by the BND to oversee the project, with ZIWA Corporation winning a competitive bid to construct the project at an estimated cost of about $8 million.

The renovated office campus, located at 1000 Foust Road, adds 12,473 square feet of new office space for a total of 26,500 square feet.