Is she a skyscraper?

No, but neither are radio stations and most everything else posted in the "City and metro news" thread, and actually most SA development in any thread.:shhh:

All other issues aside, I think that a person from New York City with a master's degree in City and Regional Planning is a mayor who is sensitive to our interests.

Good point well taken. :cheers:

I'm both proud and surprised she won. Hard to believe San Antonio has a black mayor and one that was actually elected.

Good news.

Google Fiber coming to San Antonio
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...io-6425372.php

And apparently it will be delivered by one of Google's driverless vehicles.

Bizarro Downtown. That photo is weirding me out, giving me a headache.:koko:

I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds just, weird.. It's mirrored, but the van isn't. The Marriott looks really funky next to the Grand Hyatt.

The funny thing is that they flipped the background photo so that they could match the skyline on the service vehicle, which is photo-shopped into the foreground.

How funny.

This Is Excellent News For The City
 

Can I be the first one to sign up for the service???:cheers::yes::tup: And the transformation of this beautiful and unique city continues!!!!

Thanks Google!

From:
An "affluent" San Antonian

Why do you keep using "affluent" in your posts?

Because he wants you to think he is.

Ha! I was trying to figure out where the photo was taken. Now I know... Neverland.

Woohoo! What's the timeline for this? Is it anywhere in the city limits? Will I get it out here in Stone Oak?

Who cares about the freakin photo?! -_-

I do. Not much happens in the San Antonio threads, so the backwards photo was actually something to talk about. :cheers:

Wow, just wow

He's got a point. You can go weeks without updates or discussion on this site.

We're all pinning our hopes on the Frost Tower, and an unlikely to happen CPS building.

There's a ton of development occurring in the urban core and suburban areas of San Antonio. Tons and tons of stuff.

The only thing stopping people from discussing those developments is themselves.

It's pathetic and sad really.

Go to OKCTalk and see all the activity on that forum and they're literally talking about top golf and mini golf places and five story hotels and restaurants. But that board has members that care enough, even about those small minute developments, that they have constant discussions.

There's hundreds and hundreds of residential units being built in the urban core right now. Not a soul is discussing them.

There's three cranes in the skyline of the urban core, and no talk from anyone.

People want to bitch and complain and compare and that's when the discussions take off. That's again, sad and pathetic.

I try to do my best to stimulate this board by posting content and other things but alas, I think this board was more active when the Grand Hyatt was proposed and then Vidorra.

The amount of development in the urban core at the time was literally those two things. Yet, people were more engaged then they are now. :(

It is what it is.

The Mayor keeps making things happen...Lyft is coming back.

http://m.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/...at-brings.html

I'm a little confused as to how Ivy operates. She said she didn't want any of this stuff to happen and now she does... She's too wishy washy for me.

Pretty sure she never said any of that.

True, not those words. But Uber and Lyft were not even on her campaign when running for mayor. She wasn't going to even try to get them back, and now she is actively trying to get them back? I don't understand her at all.

And that's so awesome we had the largest millennial gain. Very exciting times.

That's great for San Antonio, and I really mean that. But using percentage of population increase doesn't really tell the story correctly. Marfa could have 50% growth in the 20-29 demographic but only gain a dozen or so people. And metro growth numbers are more valid because (for example) Boston's population is only 14% of its metro population whereas San Antonio's is 63% of its metro.

Upon reading it again I stand corrected (by myself). The statistic apparently did use the MSA.

I'll leave my original mistake up in plain view for all the see because I'm not ashamed of making a mistake.

San Antonio is set to deliver as much new industrial space as Dallas and more than Houston, Austin, or El Paso in 2015.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...s-up-with.html

CPS Energy’s CEO to resign
 

Just an update to these earlier postings:

and now the update...

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...gn-6438934.php
By Vicki Vaughan Updated 9:49 pm, Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Will he be involved in a big decision to move their headquarters before he resigns? He was championing a new tower, would his replacement carry that much weight as an incoming CEO?

Hopefully, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I hope I am wrong, but it doesn't sound too good when the one person who was championing a project leaves for another job and we haven't heard any new details in a while about the headquarters. Maybe we will hear something soon. You would think most of the competitors would have designed or be working on it right now, but, like I said, we haven't hard anything new yet so I'm not sure about the fate of the project.

Well that's good news, hopefully the new CEO will decide on something soon.

From the Business Journal article:
By the time they choose a new CEO, the end of the year is probably soon enough.

A little of the same from a different source:
http://www.therivardreport.com/cps-e...eby-resigning/
IRIS DIMMICK on 12 August, 2015 at 13:09
Not surprised the old att campus was mentioned, it's a good location.

Live Nation coming to Aztec
 

This is great news for the San Antonio music scene and a huge missed opportunity for iheartradio. Someone needs to get them on program.



http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...n-antonio.html

We may be witnessing the changing of the guard in Central Texas (a bit earlier than we expected).

A first, Austin beats San Antonio's hotel business

*One positive note...Both San Antonio and Austin have half (or almost half) the "hotel" business as Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston - two metros with at or almost three times the number of people in their metro areas.

Austin Convention Center expansion seen as 'threat' to San Antonio
W. Scott Baily
Austin Business Journal
Aug 26, 2015, 9:21am CDT

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...as-threat.html

I've never been sold on the location of this Hemisfair civic park, even though I live close to it. I still believe that the existing structures would be better served as part an even larger convention center or entertainment structure. Maybe if this convention center was the lone wolf in the region it might suit us fine, but in light of this news, shouldn't we reconsider demolishing the older part of the convention center? Once that park is there, there will be no additional room for expansion. I'm not well informed as to whether or not the powers that be took this potential competition with Austin into consideration, but this news certainly has me hoping that it will give pause to this part of the redevelopment.

I'm chalking this comment up to an hasty analysis of the situation and the false perception that Austin's success is somehow a problem for San Antonio. The fact is Austin is enjoying this growth because people want to move/visit the city. Instead of whining over Austin's success and shooting ourselves in the foot, we need to improve our urban core and define/redefine what makes San Antonio great.

This goes back to what I said in the off-topic thread; the 20th century was harsh for progress in SA and we have to dig ourselves out of a huge hole, but that doesn't mean we can't become great. Lastly, the idea of reconnecting Lavaca with downtown via the hemisfair park redevelopment is vastly dependent on the civic park portion of the park. I have to disagree whole heartily on your statement that we should discontinue progress because of what Austin is doing.

From what I remember is that they wanted to incorporate the Alamodome for space as well. Am I mistaken on this?

Speaking of the convention center maybe this idea would not be bad?

http://www.ksat.com/news/will-sa-con...eau-go-private

I'm not sure this is necessarily a bad thing for San Antonio. On the face of it it does seem so, but you have to remember that Austin and San Antonio both offer something very different when it comes to entertainment. San Antonio does things in a more intimate way that draws a lot of people to witness something historic and grand, while Austin does big festivals. I don't think that San Antonio's wonder is being one-upped, I just think that Austin is getting the kind of attractions that draw more people simply because that's the nature of them - that they draw a lot of people even in a short time. That's just what festivals do.

Besides, San Antonio still has WAY more hotels than Austin does. Something like 40 or 50 more, and you guys still have a much bigger convention center than we do. Not only that, but our's is kind of pinned in by surrounding development that is substantial enough that it won't be demolished for an expansion. One area I would eye an expansion for San Antonio's convention center is west of Alamo Street between the riverwalk, and between Cesar Chavez and Nueva Street. That would still be close enough to the existing convention center that it wouldn't be too inconvenient, plus La Villita and all the Fiesta celebrations. A new (big) convention hotel could even be implemented into the expansion.

Another location for expansion is directly north of int. On that lot between Commerce and Market. Right now I think it's a parking lot. They could easily build a skybridge over Market and make it a few stories tall.

They could always build up....

When I first visited Texas in 1980, my two priority destinations were San Antonio and Austin. I didn't regard one as a competitor or alternative to the other, they were a package deal in my mind because they're so distinct from one another and my reasons for visiting were completely unique and independent for each city.

I had heard about the beauty of the River Walk and downtown SA, and it had a reputation for authenticity and tourism combined, something that is rare in American cities. I had heard about Austin only from someone in Vermont who said that Austin was very progressive, hip, and had a great music scene.

I arrive in each city with virtually no expectations. SA blew me away. I remember thinking that the Riverwalk was the most beautiful urban place I had ever seen in the USA. Granted, the touristy aspect isn't appealing but the physical space itself, with the landscaping and architecture and overall vibe, is just wonderful. I loved the narrow downtown streets with the old buildings as well. I told friends that San Antonio was the most non-American city in America, and I meant it as a compliment --- you can travel abroad without leaving the US, that's what I meant.

Austin was a delightful surprise in a very different way. I didn't think it was very attractive but I loved the funkiness, the culture, the liberalism, the hippie scene. I was a leftist hippie myself, and I felt very much at home here. There was also a personality about Austin that was hard to explain to anyone, but I fell in love and told myself that I would live here someday. I didn't expect to spend 25 years here, but that's how long I've been an Austinite.

To me, Austin-San Antonio is a package deal and there should be cooperation as well as competition. A healthy dose of each is ideal. Too much cooperation without the competitive edge leads to mediocrity. Too much competition without cooperative efforts to solve mutual problems (transportation!!) results in wasted efforts and lose-lose outcomes.

We have a lot of problems in common and we probably wouldn't all agree on what those are. For me, the main shared problems are traffic/transportation, water supply, quality of life (preserving natural beauty rather than paving everything in sight), and slowing the pace of corporate exploitation of our regional success. On that last item, every city in the region is failing miserably. We're seeing rampant sprawl as profiteering developers vomit the cheapest, fastest forms of awful suburban crap all over the landscape, and the legacy of this uncontrolled cancer will leave the Austin-SA corridor in terrible condition, with every problem listed being greatly exacerbated over time. I already have an exit strategy with my sights set on one of the interior Northwest towns --- Bend, Boise, Missoula, or Pullman/Moscow.

If SSP had likes (as SSC does) I'd give you one.

Shout out to my home town! You cannot go wrong with Boise! :tup:

Sadly this is true, nothing like California 2.0 with sprawl as far as the eye can see. We need more inward direction instead of outward.

I believe the point I was trying to make may have been misinterpreted . At no point did I make a statement against progress. I was responding to the article that I posted, which included a two-year old interview in which our own CVB’s Casandra Matej is quoted as saying “We do see them as a potential threat”. I wouldn’t consider her comment hasty or whining. I was only speaking in terms of protecting the 325 million dollar investment we made on this current expansion, the largest capital project in the city's history. It’s only prudent that we assess any potential competition that we may encounter as we look to the future of our development, and to respond appropriately if there is reason to. That may or may not include further expansion. If the goals of Austin's CVB include direct competition with us for the conventions that we usually host, then I say bring it on (a 600 million dollar investment tells me they’re in it to win it). So if they proceed with their plans, then it could very well have an impact the return on our investment, as well as our downtown hotels and restaurants. True, I would prefer to see an entertainment venue pop up there instead of a park, but that's just my biased opinion. It's prime city-owned real estate. Otherwise, I'm satisfied with Labor Street Park, which my Lavaca neighborhood recently acquired. It is a good size and surrounded by new and future development.
Nevertheless, I understand and appreciate why you disagree. The Hemisfair plan looks good, no doubt designed by smart and conscientious people.

New Cranes
 

2 new cranes up at southwest corner of Frio and Commerce. What are these for?

Interesting. A coworker of mine is there now and she says the remaining red brick building (old Samm's Shelter) is sitting on stilts.