The city finished Bates Street several years before the buildings around it were ready. Keller rebuilt the street as a festival street, put a half-acre park in the middle of it, and opened that park in October 2024. The two century-old houses beside the park stayed empty. This fall that changed. A pair of local owners bought both houses, the City Council approved grants to restore their fronts, and the first Nights on Bates brought music and vendors to the block on Sept. 25. The second one is this Friday, Oct. 23.
This post explains how the block fits together and how to spend an evening there this weekend.
The City Built the Street First
Bates Street Park opened with a ribbon cutting on Oct. 5, 2024, during Date Night in the Park. It's at 133 Bates St. and has outdoor seating, a pavilion with a stage, an open lawn, a climbing feature for young children, a walking path and landscaping.
It's a small site. The city lists it at half an acre. A city construction notice put the cost at nearly $734,300, paid for by the Keller Development Corporation, which uses a half-cent sales tax set aside for parks and recreation projects. The street was part of the same plan. City records call Bates a reconstructed "Festival Street" with 11 commissioned functional-art benches, and the Old Town Keller Phase II page lists both the street rebuild and the park as complete.
The park already had a neighbor with regular hours. The Keller History Museum is also at 133 Bates St. It's open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and admission is free. According to the Old Town Keller directory, the museum's house was moved to the site in 2013, and group tours can be booked by appointment.
That left the city with a public stage and lawn on a street built for crowds, next to two buildings that had been dark for years.
Two Houses That Sat Empty Beside the Park
The houses at 128 and 136 Bates St. had their own history. One was the Keller Station House & History Museum. The other was Catherine Anne's Books. According to Community Impact, co-owner Ashley Stone Hernandez said both had been vacant for more than three years and each is at least 100 years old.
Hernandez and Jamie Hurley bought both houses through The Hive & Holding Co., the company they co-own. They're calling the project The Keller Depot. Hoodline reported a combined purchase price of $650,000. That's in the same range as the roughly $734,300 the city spent on the park next door.
The city stepped in at its Sept. 15, 2026 meeting. The City Council agenda included a Façade Improvement Grant agreement for each address and a separate Chapter 380 economic development agreement covering both. Keller Economic Developer Ana Erwin told Community Impact the project could qualify for up to $30,000 in city grant reimbursements.
One of the two houses has a tenant. The Keller Depot's site names Stephens Sweet Shoppe, the candy truck run by Jason and Tina, as the future tenant of Jackson Cottage. It also says the Station House is still looking for a coffee house tenant.
| Address | New name | Former use | Planned use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 128 Bates St. | The Station House | Keller Station House & History Museum | Coffee house, tenant not yet named |
| 136 Bates St. | The Jackson Cottage | Catherine Anne's Books | Stephens Sweet Shoppe |
| Between the two | Ticket booth | On loan from the Keller History Museum | Historic Interurban Lines booth |
| Behind the two | 139 Olive | Existing event venue | Planned connection to both backyards |
The ticket booth ties the block back to the railroad. Its sign reads Interurban Lines, the electric railway that linked Fort Worth and Dallas with Cleburne, Denison, Corsicana and Waco, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
Renovation was set to start after the National Night Out event at the Depot on Oct. 6, with the goal of having both buildings ready to lease by December.
The Shared Fence Line Holds the Plan Together
The Depot houses share a fence line with 139 Olive, the event venue Hernandez opened in May 2023. The venue describes itself as a historic space for small celebrations and business gatherings. It also hosts public pop-ups, including night markets, chef dinners and fitness nights.
According to Community Impact, Hernandez plans to replace the grass in both Bates Street backyards with turf to match 139 Olive, and she pictures the backs of the two houses connecting to the event center. She also said the park next door could make Bates a festival street. "This will truly become a destination for gathering, connection, small business and unforgettable experiences," she told the outlet.
You can already see the connection in the Depot's visitor directions. The site tells guests to park on Olive Street and walk through the 139 Olive and Keller Depot properties to Bates Street. Extra parking is on Vine Street and at the Vine and Elm lot, and 139 Olive provides the restrooms. So a guest can walk from one street to the next through three properties, ending at a city park. Olive Street and Bates Street work as one block.
Friday, Oct. 23, Step by Step
Nights on Bates runs Friday, Oct. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Bates Street Park, with live music starting at 7. The event page lists local makers and pop-ups, food vendors, live music and family activities, and it says guests 21 and older may bring their own drinks. Stephens Sweet Shoppe will be there with its candy truck. One hotel event listing gives the hours as 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The Depot's own site says 6 to 9, and those are the hours to plan around.
A simple route for the evening:
- Park on Olive Street or at the Vine and Elm lot, as the Depot site suggests.
- Walk through 139 Olive and the Depot backyards to Bates Street. Restrooms are at 139 Olive.
- Look at the two houses at 128 and 136 Bates St. and the Interurban Lines ticket booth between them before renovation changes how they look.
- Get to the pavilion stage before 7 p.m. for the live music.
- Leave the history museum for Saturday. It's open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and admission is free.
Saturday, Oct. 24 also has two city events. Trash Bash starts at 9 a.m., and the Haunted Camp Out runs Oct. 24 into Oct. 25.
Two Doors Down on South Main
Two new businesses opened this summer a short walk away at 228 S. Main St. Luna Loco is a 2,100-square-foot Mexican restaurant with tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, burritos and a full-service bar. It soft-opened Aug. 21 and announced its official opening Aug. 27.
In Suite 100 of the same building is Southern Soul & Co., a family-owned shop that Kristen Loveless runs with her mother and daughter. It sells western-inspired clothing, turquoise jewelry, accessories and home décor. The shop opened Aug. 7 and held its grand opening Sept. 12.
So in one season, 228 S. Main added a restaurant with a bar and a boutique, Bates Street got a monthly evening event, and two empty houses got owners with leasing plans.
Keller's Two Gathering Places This Fall
Keller holds its biggest civic events somewhere else. Holly Days is Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Keller Town Hall and Keller Town Center, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway. It includes the Very Merry Light Parade, photos with Santa and the Christmas tree lighting. Flannel Fest, the city's family fall festival, is Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The city hasn't posted a venue yet.
Bates Street hosts a smaller kind of evening. The next Nights on Bates after this week is "Shop Small, Stay Awhile" on Friday, Nov. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m., the day after Thanksgiving. It's at Bates Street Park again. By then renovation of the two houses should be well along, with both buildings aiming to be ready to lease in December.
Old Town Keller is changing one house at a time this fall, and we're watching Bates Street closely. If you want to talk about what a block like this means for nearby homes, or you just want help planning your own move around Keller's calendar, Randy White Real Estate Services is close by in Southlake. Let's Connect.
