SAN ANTONIO │ City and Metro Off-Topic Thread
 

So the Fantastic Four movie is a bomb, did anyone see it and like it?

Now that's off topic. :) I haven't seen it, but this is the third Fantastic Four movie (with the other ones being in 1994 and 2005) and they have all seem to suck. This Marvel franchise can't seem to get off the ground. The title of this thread is the "City and Metro" off topic thread, so these posts will probably get deleted because they are too far off topic for this off topic thread.

You're so right. I feel Fox should just hand them over to Disney.

But yeah, I saw "off topic" and jumped at the opportunity to talk about something else! lol

They need to stop doing so many comic book movies. I haven't gone to the theater in a while, but F4 didn't entice me enough to go.

Hats off to Sirkingwilliam
 

Thank you, Sirkingwilliam for solving this "off topic" issue!

And I know I won't post on this thread.

Booooring!!:cheers:

Time to End Annexation?
 

San Antonio has been following the practice of growing the tax base by annexing newer developments, as opposed to working on improving the inner city and creating an environment that raises property values.

In my opinion, this encourages sprawl making the city more difficult to manage, shifts investment to the outlying areas where the city ends up footing the bill for inadequate infrastructures.

On the other hand, it did allow the city to make some decisions (mostly not the best) on recharge areas and prevent a development close to the Bracken bat cave.

Would it be better for the city to be smaller with suburban communities, or should they continue annexation?

I think it's great that San Antonio can annex so much developed land. Most cities can only wish they could capture more tax base. The areas that get annexed are going to end up with suburban style development anyway. So it's best that San Antonio can collect the property and sales taxes. Plus, there's no reason why San Antonio can't develop a denser urban core regardless of what goes on in the areas getting annexed.

I think the city should stop annexing for now. I understand the idea behind it (more tax base, get people who use city's resources but don't pay for it), but I don't want to see the city become as big as Houston or Phoenix.

One thing I would like to see more downtown is some good, new retail. Fortunately RiverCenter Mall is adding some new stores and fixing the building up, but as a downtown that has a large tourism sector, you'd think there'd be more options. I also think that creating a synergy with the right shops/restaurants/bars/clubs can make downtown the kind of place more locals would want to be even if there is a new high rise or not. If we make it our go to place, national and local developers would only have to pursue it (more demand for downtown living).

Skw
 

We're simply not going to agree.

While HDRC is the most high profile example, there is sense of historical preservation, which I'm not against to a point, that seems to stifle, not necessarily development DT, but the scale of development. I'm not necessarily referring solely to height, but I do like skyscrapers.

Some of our most modern buildings were either built thirty years ago, or are outside the urban core, and some of the more recent buildings don't look very modern, especially as time goes by.

The HDRC may be seen as a hassle to developers, but San Antonio has many other more influential factors that can be associated with the lack of development in our urban core. What amazes me is how a city which was touted as one of the most unique cities in the U.S. prior to the 20th century is now viewed as lackluster by many people today. The fact is many of the cities oldest and most cultural neighborhoods were razed during the 20th century. These policies left only the bare-bones of the area's culture and urban fabric and this created many of the problems we are seeing today for our "lackluster" city. The city and it's people are finally realizing these mistakes and by rehabilitating the San Antonio river, San Pedro creek, and Hemisfair park maybe locals will move back in. While the city may never recover it's lost culture and urban fabric, I am optimistic for our future. San Antonio is just an old rebel that runs on it's own time.

Very well said. Thank you.

http://www.sacurrent.com/Blogs/archi...opens-thursday

Looks downtown is getting its first rooftop bar and my new favorite bar. Perfect location too. It's at 9th and the riverwalk, in that new office building.

Interesting little blurb in an article about a pizza joint re-locating
http://www.sacurrent.com/Blogs/archi...pizza-classics

...not sure what that means except that some type of development is planned for this area. The old address was "2110 Broadway St, San Antonio, TX 78215" which is about a block north of the Mosaic, across the street from the old Buttercrust bakery.

I caught that too, I logged on to post it in fact, but you beat me to it!

About 6 months ago the pre-fab metal warehouse building and two broken down houses behind Pizza Classics were demolished, which took up half of that block. I assume this purchase is related to that demo.

BCAD says it's owned by NORTH ALAMO PROPERTIES LLC. Seems like not enough land for a "high rise", but who knows?

I wonder what they mean by high rise. I'm assuming they are using that entire block if it will be from 15-30 stories, which, again, is an assumption on my part of "high rise". I also understand that just about anything over 5 stories could be labeled a high rise in that area. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

I really hope more density comes to Sunset station and Dignowity Hill. There is so much opportunity of making it a very Williamsburg, BK-esque area. I am an Urban Studies major going to school in NYC currently, originally from SA, and just want to see the type of development that's going on in Brooklyn start happening in SA. It is all very doable and easy development. As long as SA focuses on keeping diverse communities and not let gentrification get out of hand, because I am in favor of gentrification to an extent, then Dignowity Hill, Sunset station, Southtown, Lavaca, Near west side, Tobin Hills, and South Broadway could all become walkable neighborhoods with new, modern, unique living & working options. Seeing that rendering of what Sunset station could look like excites me because it is very doable. SA just needs to bucker down and start thinking a tiny bit bigger with the living options. They could easily start developing infill projects that go 8-12 stories comfortably and start building up a little more instead of just filling in. The city has the capability and demand enough to start thinking a bit bigger. Loving checking this and seeing my hometown change but hope the success continues and steps it up a bit.

I was in Nashville this past week and walked by their convention center. It's really a nice building. Here is a link to their photo gallery: http://www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com/photos
That will give you an overall feel for what is there

Just for comparison:
Nashville :leek:
http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pb...-Center-events

San Antonio :dunno:
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/o.../122284499.jpg
...but think of the energy savings without windows, and they can use the wall to show movies!
:grumpycat: "beauty and happiness are overrated"

Nashville's CC is much nicer looking, and Nashville has some excellent entertainment options, but they don't have a River Walk to provide as much of a unique experience to visitors.

It's apples and oranges.

One was built from the ground up whose design started from scratch while the other is an expansion whose design had to play off an already established look.

Not at all, it's a valid comparison. I'm comparing how the buildings look from and interact with the street. The San Antonio convention center expansion has a grand opening next to the Hyatt with a lot of windows that is not very interesting and then there is nothing but a long flat blank wall. There is little concern for aesthetics.

The original expansion didn't look anything like the original space; It was nicer and more interesting; even more so than this latest expansion. They could have taken design elements of the first expansion and done much better. The new look reminds me more of the Grand Hyatt which was mostly terrible.

I walked by the Nashville building in the evening not knowing what it was and it was pretty grand. The San Antonio location really sucks because it's on the edge of a highway and there is no attempt to conceal that and there is also no reason for anyone to walk around the east side of the building.

I'm not sure if they ever had a budget to make something interesting, or if the that was spent moving the street. I always thought the better direction to expand was towards the park and Tower. That would helped both the convention center and park. That was one problem with the first expansion, there wasn't enough of an opening towards the park.

In the post that I quoted, you made no mention of comparing the interaction at street level for both structures.

It was a simple this building looks better than that building type post, which I agree with, but I made my post with that understanding.

GM Financial to create nearly 500 jobs in San Antonio
By MICHAEL LOCKLEAR
Fox San Antonio
Updated: Thursday, December 17 2015, 10:13 PM CST
http://www.foxsanantonio.com/news/fe...l#.VnQ7Sb9AriQ

Benavides has big vision for city’s tricentennial

By Josh Baugh
Senior Reporter | San Antonio Express-News
December 27, 2015
http://www.expressnews.com/news/loca...-s-6722882.php

This is one of many articles out there on this subject. Only two years left! :fireworks:

San Antonio's convention center will also have lots of windows its not just walls.:sly: The existing riverwalk that runs through it will be expanded into Hemisfair Park through the convention center lagoon and open up to the new civic park area and new planned themed areas at Hemisfair, there will be lots of nice areas but Its a convention center it will have sections that aren't all that aesthically pleasing, the loading docs and service areas.

San Antonio to spend $100,000 on a public toilet
By Michael Locklear
News 4 San Antonio
Thursday, March 3rd 2016

http://news4sanantonio.com/news/loca...wn-san-antonio

About time
 

It's long past due we get to the bottom of this dire situation. Was kinda looking forward to the one way mirror type, though.:cheers:

Tricentennial group targets city’s history
By Scott Huddleston
San Antonio Express News
March 15, 2016

http://www.expressnews.com/news/loca...ry-6891092.php

2015 population numbers are out and San Antonio increased the growth :tup:
San Antonio passed Pittsburgh and is passed Portland by now.

Atascosa County 48,435 +623

Bandera County 20,916 +353

Bexar County 1,897,753 +37,479

Comal County 129,048 +5,609

Guadalupe County 151,249 +3,977

Kendall County 40,384 +1,623

Medina County 48,417 +541

Wilson County 47,520 +1,080

Total 2,384,075 +51,285

Got a feeling that Medina county will see considerable growth in the next five years or so.

Final designs for San Antonio river barges revealed
KSAT TV
ksat.com
Posted: 10:17 PM, March 28, 2016
Updated: 12:03 PM, March 29, 2016
http://www.ksat.com/news/final-desig...rges-revealed#

http://bullseye-prod.aggrego.org/wp-...E4s1Og8sHDI%3D
from: http://sanantonio.suntimes.com/sa-ne...arges-revealed

Three Finalists Vie To Design River Walk Barges
By Louisa Jonas
Texas Public Radio
http://tpr.org/post/three-finalists-...er-walk-barges

http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net...603/barge1.JPG
http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net...603/Barge2.jpg
http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net...603/barge3.jpg

Prefer elements of the first two, provided the cover on the first one doesn't impede the veiws.

That third one...Yeeesh!

MacDougal to leave “preservation heaven”
By Scott Huddleston
San Antonio Express News
February 29, 2016 Updated: February 29, 2016 7:06pm
http://www.expressnews.com/news/loca...#photo-9477262

San Antonio artist’s ‘Kinetic Skyline’ lights up downtown building Thursday

This is a welcome addition to the skyline of my fave city in Texas!

Winner of River Barge Contest Announced
Posted By Mark Reagan
San Antonio Current
Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 2:16 PM
http://www.sacurrent.com/Blogs/archi...test-announced

http://media2.fdncms.com/sacurrent/i...?cb=1459549509

Here is a commentary piece I wrote recently on the Rivard Report. I was wondering what y'all thought about these ideas:

http://therivardreport.com/commentar...e-of-downtown/

For some context, I understand these ideas may seem ambitious or unfeasible by our current political governance of mediocracy; however I believe our city is beginning a cultural Tejano renaissance as more people are obtaining a college education and expecting more from our city. These ideas may not happen in the near future, but I think they may become easier to implement within the next 7-12 years.

I liked your ideas. they mirrored many of mine, especially relocating VIA headquarters. In my version, the block between Jackson and San Pedro is developed business/residential, but the rest would be parkland.

San Pedro has received so little attention. :(

Yeah I agree, I think it would be cool to see a village style area on that lower corner. I didn't elaborate on it in the article enough, but I would like to see the city push urban development that reflects our historic architecture. Using adobe and stone like the missions, and adding Spanish architecture and smaller human-scale footprints for buildings as we did before WWII.

I think there are many advantages that we would see if we "went back to the basics". Especially since these types of developments are more environmentally sustainable and energy efficient.

Also reintroducing public spaces into our urban fabric would strengthen our communities and provide better connectivity for our neighbors to meet each other. I Purposed the paseos to be expanded near El Mercado, but I can see many other areas where these paseos can also be implemented. on the bottom line, These areas would become cash cows for any properly managed business.

San Antonio Zoo CEO pursuing historic expansion plan (slideshow)
W. Scott Bailey Reporter/Project Coordinator
San Antonio Business Journal
Jun 7, 2016, 2:19pm CDT Updated Jun 7, 2016, 4:44pm CDT

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...expansion.html

del

Yeah now that the city has some momentum and the incentives, we really need to start enforcing more street-level retail and more affordable units.

I also believe that the city needs to increase funding for SAHA for affordable units in these urban neighborhoods. SA isn't the wealthiest city, and many recent graduates who would love to live within the urban core are priced out. I can imagine the hiding demand that is pent up.

And I really hope we start to discuss urban development that reflects our distinct cultural and historical influences. I host many travelers passing through SA, and the most frequent comments about their views of SA always reflect on how surprised they were to find SA to be so different from their preconceived notions. It is easy to preserve a building, but again we need to not simply preserve the past; but we need to continue on and expand upon the qualities that make our past worth preserving.

I'm writing a new article, but I haven't pinned the tail on the direction I want to go.

Ding ding ding! It really boggles the mind. What's more, all the new retail space in Midtown/River North is 100% leased as far as I can tell. Maybe we'll see some of those units turned into retail when the developer wakes up and realizes the opportunity they're passing up (something similar happened at the Cevallos Lofts, I believe).

I really wish cities would see the benefits of providing affordable housing in the core. I suppose I could fit in the recent college graduate demographic (UTSA '12), been living in Phoenix since 2012 and just moved into my studio on the edge of downtown. I'm paying $685/mo for rent and I have everything I need within walking distance as I don't have a car. 10 min to the grocery store, 10 min to the movie theater, 3 min to my favorite bar, 6 min to the light rail. Now my train ride to work has gone from 30 min to 6 min. I actually plan on walking to work once the temps stop hitting 110+! haha

I know this is not about San Antonio, but
 

Congratulations to Austin. :cheers:

http://www.today.com/home/2017-us-be...report-t107829

Austin is number one.

That is awesome for our neighbor to the north. More tourism for us with possible visitors!

Yes, congrats Austin, Texas!!:cheers:
And agreed jaga, SA loves the overspill of people from our little neighbor to the north!! :tup:

By the way these are the other Texas cities that made it on the top 25:

15. Dallas
20. Houston
23. San Antonio

( data provided from San Antonio Business Journal)

Congrats to ALL!:cheers:

This is great for Texas. Now we need to get to work on our two monolithically Hispanic major cities (the RGV and El Paso) and our one major bastion of working class whites (Fort Worth) to provide a better geographic equality of opportunity for our citizens.

Originally Posted by AwesomeSAView View Post
Ahhhh, that's not a comparison. LOL
It's called a question.
Sleeping in English class, I assume...

Make your day a GREAT day!!

First of all, your snarky ad homs are not appreciated. We should endeavor to keep the discourse civil.

Second, you miss the point. Even Weston wants to duplicate the things that have been successful in other cities. He had to be convinced that DT could be the catalyst for his vision.

Dell was not in DT Austin, but off of Research Blvd. So, in essence, he wants to take what has been successful in Austin, and improve it here, while also invigorating the DT core.

Looking at what other cities have achieved does not mean we want to be a carbon copy of those cities, but rather take what has worked, and make it ours.