yeah, someone should merge this thread...you should put this with the san antonio suburban update thread, or whatever it's called

I've gone ahead and merged the Rim thread with the Suburban and Metropolitan Update thread.

Threads are not being deleted. Dylan shut off the automatic thread pruner, so no threads are being deleted as of now. If anyone ever has trouble finding a thread, just let me know and I'll look into it.

Could this be stickered to the top?

Which threads were merged?

Your off the wall, San Antonio is on the progressive track just like Austin.San Antonio's downtown is at a higher level overall.There is more retail, more business, and more people living downtown.More to do, which is not just for tourist.The Riverwalk expansion,River North, 25,000 residents projected, is going to put San Antonio's downtown top notch.San Antonio-Austin intermunicipal commuter rail district is underway.San Antonio is no different as far as planning new future transportation infrastructure.The highest paid city manager in the country,from Phoenix, now San Antonio's, i'm sure has new idea's to make San Antonio a top notch city.

I would like to know if they are going build a central market or whole foods in I 10 1604 area with all that building......does anyone know

I merged sirkingwilliam's thread: San Antonio Suburban and Metropolitan Update

with his other thread: SA: The Rim, Shops at La Cantera, La Joya and The Landmark Updates


The latter thread is now part of this one, (post number 39).

Paul, why do you insist on a) responding to something I said on August 8 and b) insist on saying patently untrue statements?

Again, if you recall, only one article from 1998 has ever suggested a number that means there are more people living downtown in SA. When and where are 25,000 residents projected? If you look at the only relatively unbiased piece of data, it shows that Austin has more people living in its downtown zip code than SA does. Either way, which city has a dozen or more downtown apartment buildings being constructed? Not San Antonio.

And, yes, Austin is different in planning its infrastructure - it has a commuter rail line being constructed. San Antonio does not have a commuter rail line being constructed.

:koko:

San Antonio's downtown sits in different zip codes,Not one!

I will give Austin the light rail edge, but I'm sure it will be on San Antonio's ballot again.Austin needs more to compensate it's transportation problems than San Antonio's.Austin has no adequate freeway system compared to San Antonio's.As far as new housing projects downtown, San Antonio has it's share,many new projects are renovated historic buildings.

SA has almost no chance at getting LRT. Charlotte, Austin, and the Twin Cities all got it when the Feds were more generous. It does have a chance at getting some BRT though.

BRT is set to open in 2012.

Really? You have a link?

http://www.viainfo.net/BusService/BRT.aspx

There is a whole timeline for it.

More about BRT:http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sa...10/daily1.html
http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/sa...8/daily12.html

Let's keep this thread on topic of suburban updates for San Antonio, and NOT city vs city crap or city boosterism. Ok? Also, if you're going to start talking a bunch about transportation, you might consider starting a separate thread for that to keep this one on topic.

Trae, when did you start working for VIA in their main offices? I kid of course, well not so much. You state that as if you are informed from within, which I doubt you are. From my own discussions with actual VIA board members, the plan is to eventual have lightrail transit. They way they have proposed it is first create BRT lines throughout the city and then convert them to Lightrail, something they feel would be an easier thing to do as they are still feeling the sting from the last LRT vote. BRT was then the brainchild of the former chairman at VIA (who has since stepped down and been replaced) and is now being more aggressively attacked by the new chairman.

The first line will be the Fredericksburg Road/Medical Center BRT Corridor, which will be a line from west downtown to the medical center and will be operational by 2012. This line itself will contain 16-18 large buses and about 8 transit stations not including the end-points. As I stated, the two end-points will be Cattleman's Square (west downtown) and the medical center on the northwest side. The plan is to then add new corridors/lines with an eventual switch to rail. However, that will not be for another 15-20 years from now.

Growth seen for The Rim

Web Posted: 10/11/2007 08:27 PM CDT

Melissa S. Monroe
Express-News Business Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...m.2bf36de.html

The developer of the massive The Rim shopping center in Northwest San Antonio plans to open five or even six hotels there within the next few years and is working to lure retailers such as Whole Foods and IKEA.

Stan Thomas, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Thomas Enterprises Inc., said his company has been attracting retailers and companies that once were eyeing downtown or North Central San Antonio.

The Rim center will include two Marriott hotels and an upscale boutique hotel and spa called The Stanbury. The Stanbury, also going in at a Thomas Enterprises development in Atlanta, is a luxury hotel that combines residences with hotel rooms.

Other companies exploring locating at The Rim at Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 include Dick's Sporting Goods and Staples, Thomas said.

Thomas was in San Antonio on Thursday for the opening of a Chick-fil-A restaurant at The Rim, which drew hundreds of customers.

That area of the city needs more hotels, said Marco A. Barros, president and CEO of the San Antonio Area Tourism Council.

"The area around The Rim shopping center is one of the fastest-growing areas in San Antonio, and more hotel rooms are needed to serve the demand created by Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Westin La Cantera Resort, UTSA and other corporate businesses," Barros said.

"I foresee that area growing all the way to Boerne and offering various hotel brand names" for visitors to San Antonio.

Kimberly S. Gatley, director of market research for REOC Partners, a local commercial real estate firm, said both developers and retailers are seeing the value of the Northwest market.

"As a national developer, Thomas Enterprises recognizes San Antonio as being underserved," she said.

"From the start of the project, it's been successful. The development we are seeing at The Rim and The Shops at La Cantera are basically meeting the pent-up demand for retailers and services. We will continue to see the residential growth and expansion of more retail services."

She added she has heard that Whole Foods wants to bring another store here, and IKEA has expressed interest as well.

Developer Thomas said his company, which has centers in Georgia, Florida and California, has worked with Whole Foods in the past, and he hopes the retailer picks The Rim for another store.

However, a Whole Foods spokesman reached late Thursday said the company doesn't have plans to open another store in San Antonio.

Thomas said his company also is in active conversations with IKEA, and getting it would add more regional appeal to the center. IKEA recently opened a store in Round Rock.

Thomas said the second phase of the project, called The Village, is already under way, and he envisions the center being the future of San Antonio.

"One of the great things about this site is it's like Main Street," he said. "It's convenient and visible. It has a regional draw to it with the retailers that are here — and it still feels local."

Some anchors of the 800-acre site are Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, the Palladium theater, JCPenney, Best Buy and Target.

Thomas said both Bass Pro and the Palladium have been a regional attraction for shoppers, and the Palladium is considered the seventh-busiest theater in North America.

To complement the hotels, Thomas added that the center also is getting four restaurants new to the city that he chose not to identify.

His company also is working on convincing companies to locate their headquarters at the shopping center, which will combine residential units, upscale condos, an office complex and an auto dealership.

underserved is an understatement for San Antonio....the pentup demand is insane. I think I remember reading as well, that the auto dealership is something on the scale of like a mega dealership with several car brands being sold under the same name...many of which I believe were very high end brands.

With everything that is planned/under construction throughout the metro area, you can see developers finally took notice. It's shocking what's is happening in far west Bexar with the 211-Potranco corridor. That area alone was nearly 140,000 people in 2005 with projections of 250,000 by next year (2008). The 211-Potranco corridor is expected to be home to over 3 million square feet of retail within the next few years. And that is just one small area of the metro area.