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The Bonham Exchange reportedly faces city closure under a 2018 code revision that it\u2019s yet to meet. Credit: Matt Kelley<\/p>\nThe Bonham Exchange reportedly faces city closure under a 2018 code revision that it\u2019s yet to meet. Credit: Matt Kelley<\/p>\n
Bonham Exchange, the downtown dean of San Antonio\u2019s LGBTQ+ nightspots, faces potential closure because the city wants the 135-year-old building outfitted with automatic sprinklers, the Express-News reports<\/a>. <\/p>\n City officials accuse the club, housed in a historic three-story building, of being years past an Oct. 1, 2023 deadline to meet current fire code. However, at least three City Council members are pushing to extend the deadline for the expensive upgrade, according to the daily. <\/p>\n The Bonham \u2014\u00a0along with Industry Nightclub, Heat Nightclub, Nuevo Volcan, Club 727, I-10 Icehouse and Paper Tiger \u2014 failed to comply with a city rule adopted in 2018 that requires nightclubs, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol and have occupancy limits above 300 to have automatic fire sprinklers, the Express-News reports.<\/p>\n All those businesses save the Bonham signed interim city agreement allowing them to operate so long as they maintain fire watches and limit their number of patrons, according to the daily. The\u00a0Bonham\u2019s management reportedly balked, arguing that cutting the club\u2019s occupancy to 300 people, as required under the deal, would mean financial ruin. <\/p>\n In separate comments to TV station KSAT<\/a>, Bonham General Manager Joan Duckworth said a new sprinkler system would cost $550,000, meaning the club would need time to a major fundraising push. <\/p>\n More time available? <\/p>\n District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, whose district includes the Bonham is leading the large to give the club more time to come into compliance. She, along with District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, want council to vote this Thursday on extending the compliance deadline for the seven clubs until Feb. 1, 2027, according to KSAT.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, it\u2019s more of a public safety threat to close down an institution that people go to where they feel safe and where they feel like they\u2019re accepted and wanted,\u201d Kaur said. \u201cThat is a bigger safety threat \u2014 that we would be closing down an institution like that.<\/p>\n Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, the first out LGBTQ+ person to serve in the city\u2019s top elected position, declined to tell the Express-News how she plans to vote when council considers the matter on Thursday. <\/p>\n \u201cNobody wants to see the Bonham closed,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think we also want to make sure that it is a safe place. We will continue to see if we can work this out before Thursday and hopefully get a good resolution that means the Bonham is a safe place for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n \t