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Originally Posted by Texan101
 What do you expect? We've had it rough in the high rise development area compared to the rest of the state. HDRC shoots down pretty much everything. When something does get approved, you can bet they are going to have numerous problems with the design. I'm still bitter as hell about the proposed Joske's Tower project. That was by far my favorite proposal of the past two decades and perfect for SA. Should have been approved and could have went on to be a great model to follow for any future high rise developments downtown. |
San Antonio gives the HDRC more credit (or disrespect) than it deserves. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they only have oversight if one of three conditions is met 1) the building is designated historic or in a historic district; 2) it's owned by the City; or 3) it sits in the Rio Overlay area along the river. It seems like they have more power than they do because well, so far all the development downtown has been clustered around the river, been a reuse of an old building, or been City-owned. The UHS expansion, HEB store, and developments along South Flores like 1010 didn't have to be approved by them. Considering the new tower's site and it's private owner, my guess is the HDRC won't be involved.
As for the Joske's tower, it was a beautiful proposal for a bad location. I agreed with the proposal until the National Parks Service and UNESCO team said the tower could jeopardize a World Heritage designation for the Alamo and the missions. IMO that designation and the attention it will bring our city is more important than the tower. But it was a really good design and in a perfect world they'd build that sucker in another part of downtown.