It was a daunting task, to say the least.

As part of his vision to convert the old J. V. Cardiff & Sons rice dryer to an entertainment complex serving the City of Katy, developer Hadi (Andrew) Nurcahya knew that the aging structure had to be repainted….a task that had not been performed in more than 40 years.

Completed in 1966, this structure stands 177 feet tall and was once the tallest rice dryer in the United States. It still remains a prominent landmark in the Katy area, located on Highway Blvd. near Katyland Drive. In late 2020, developer Hadi “Andrew” Nurcahya bought the property from an Austin-based developer in order to turn the site into a community space to encourage local economic growth in alignment with historical preservation.

To realize that vision, Nurcahya has added attractions such as a miniature train, a weekly farmer’s market and more, and he brought back the beloved lighting of the Christmas tree atop the dryer. But the buildings needed work – specifically, they needed to be painted.

On August 15, 2025, Nurcahya and his team of two painters and their three assistants -- painters Tim Duncan and Taylor Long and assistants Ricardo Almazan, Tengis Ulziikhutag, and Andrew Nurcahya Jr. -- began work on the $150,000 project. There was no elevator to get to the top of the three buildings in the complex, so they climbed up using the existing rung ladder and rappelled back down using ropes and descenders. That meant 180 climbs up to complete the soft washing, followed by another 180 climbs to accomplish the painting.

The workers used commercial grade paint airless sprayers and pressure washing equipment with extremely long hoses. For transporting heavy tools and equipment, they used a cat head winch to bring them up the side of the building. Over the course of the five-month period, the team used more than 100 buckets of paint or more than 500 gallons. The work was completed on January 10.

Nurcahya said that the Cardiff name will not be painted on the dryer since he does not believe that there was ever a Cardiff name appearing anywhere on the structure.

Now it is time to move on to phase two, Nurcahya said, which includes moving the farmers’ market to the specially built marketplace area. In a previous interview with the Times, he had outlined plans for an office building, gift shop and other improvements.

“Unfortunately, The Dryer project is hindered by City of Katy building department,” Nurcahya said in an email interview with the Katy Times. “We are still working with the building department for permit approval since 2023 for shipping container restrooms and vendors. I am growing tired of being slowed down by the City of Katy. We do not understand why everyone has always wanted somebody to save the

rice dryer. My crew and I have put our blood, sweat and tears into this project, but building department has hindered us almost every step of the way.”

Nurcahya subsequently posted his frustrations with the city in a January 21 post on Facebook. “The Dryer project is not a ‘typical’ build,” he said. “We build tourism-quality spaces that respect the rice dryer's industrial, rustic character. But projects like this [are] not compatible with modern building codes. Concrete rice dryers aren’t in the International Building Code. Shipping containers aren’t either. This place was never meant to be ‘typical.’ "

“My family and I are doing everything we can,” Nurcahya said in the post. “But we are not a national developer. We don’t have bottomless pockets. We are a Katy family trying to preserve a piece of Katy history.”