Sherman starts Courthouse Square lighting project under $844,600 contract

By GvilleTX Newsroom

The City of Sherman has begun a downtown project around Courthouse Square that will replace the existing street lights over the coming months, according to a post on the city's own channel. The job sits at 100 W. Houston Street, the address Grayson County lists for its courthouse, which puts the work in Sherman and Grayson County rather than in Gainesville or Cooke County.

The record behind the work is a July 6, 2026 Sherman City Council packet item, Resolution No. 7655. It authorized an agreement with Hawk Builders for a project the city identifies as Downtown Lighting at 100 W. Houston Street. The packet caps the agreement at $844,600 and pays for it through the city's 2025-2026 capital improvement program budget. Under the terms, the contractor has 10 calendar days from the effective date to mobilize, and final completion is set at 206 calendar days after the city issues its notice to proceed.

Project submittals listed in the packet lay out a new downtown lighting package of light poles, lighting fixtures and lighting equipment. The same list requires speaker equipment, along with digital banner equipment and Wi-Fi equipment.

In its post, the city said the new system is meant to carry music and announcements during events, show event information on an LED screen, and provide anchor points for cross-street lighting the city may add later.

City records identify Shawn C. Teamann as mayor of Sherman. The City of Sherman staff directory lists Sarah McRae as the city's Tourism/Main Street Manager.

Sherman has weighed lighting on the courthouse square before. City archives show that in 2013 the council approved internally lighted street-name signs at all four corners of Courthouse Square, a step the city described at the time as the final phase of its downtown improvements.

The spending comes as another Grayson County city budgets for its own downtown construction. Denison's 2025-2026 budget includes a second phase of its D3 streetscape, funded through 2025A certificates of obligation, and lists D3 Phase 2 construction spending of $11,324,655.

When physical work wraps depends on the notice to proceed, which starts the 206-day completion clock described in the council packet. The city has said residents can expect the street-light replacement to play out over the next several months.