Farris met with local media last weekend for a tour of the 102-year-old building, and talked about the renovation and remodeling project that began about a year ago.

A Houston commercial real estate developer, Farris has hunted in Karnes and Atascosa counties for over 25 years and whenever he passed through Kenedy, the old bank building with the granite columns and arched front entrance always caught his eye.

"There was just something about that building that fascinated me," Farris said.

So when Farris saw the tiny "for sale" sign in the window, he immediately contacted the owners, Joe and Ann Lang, to talk about making a deal.

Although he could see the building needed a lot of work, Farris took a leap of faith and bought the old building. He decided to remodel it to be used as a residence for his family for weekends and vacations, and also plans to lease the building to people for special occasions, weekend getaways, or vacations in South Texas.

Farris knew the building was in need of major repair, but he had no idea how much repair was needed until he began to "dig in" to the project. One architect, Farris noted, refused to walk near the building on 2nd street for fear that it would collapse down upon him.

After trying to use several architects, Farris decided to become his own architect and general contractor – coordinating the project himself. He used local contractors, whenever possible, because from the beginning he wanted the project to be good for Kenedy.

"You know how they say that when you remodel an old building you should take your best estimate of how much time and money are needed and then double it?" Farris said. "Well, with this one, it was doubled and then some!"

The building was literally about to collapse, Farris noted. It required major structural remodeling because much of the original building had rotted away or was covered in mold as a result of many years of moisture and decay.

"It was a labor of love," Farris noted, adding that he believed the project would be complete sometime in May.

Just before the tour was over, Farris said he had one more very interesting story to tell about the project.

During the project, workers were puzzled about unaccounted for space in the floor plan of the building. They soon realized that next to the vault, was a single brick wall with no wooden framework supporting it.

Workers knocked down part of the wall creating a opening and peered inside the dark empty space, which for unexplained reasons had been completely sealed off.

"Did you find anything inside that space?" a reporter asked Farris.

"Yes we did," Farris said. "Something very, very interesting."

Farris reached down under a table holding blueprints and photographs and lifted up an old canvas bank bag.

He reached inside and pulled out a handful of gleaming gold coins.

"We found thirty bags of these," he said.

The reporter stood in shock, staring at the gold coins and the bags on the table.

"You must be kidding!" the reporter said.

"Yes, I am," Farris said, and a sly smile took over his face and he began to laugh.

Farris pointed out that the story would be published in the upcoming week, which held a very significant date.

April 1.

Although Farris didn’t find any gold inside the old bank building, he did find a real treasure. Through his efforts he has restored and uncovered a piece of living history that will likely stand on Main Street in Kenedy for many years to come.