Oh, and Frost Tower is 386' not 400' (as much as I hate saying that. But, it's the truth). One looses credibility when fudging numbers - so, please be careful.
I feel it too. There's so much boom in other major Texas cities except for SA
I for one am glad that SA's growth and development is a little "slower" than other Texas cities. As much as I love Austin/Houston/Dallas (I lived in the first two for a time), we've seen what explosive growth has done in terms of traffic, infighting about transportation, loss of culture etc. etc. There are lots of good things about those cities too... obviously... but its nice to see a Texas city that is able to strongly retain its cultural identity while growing at a more steady and sustainable rate. This is all my opinion of course. This isn't to say I would hate to see a big, beautiful 700' to 800' tower go up in SA either!
My two cents - as an outsider who just visited the city for the first time last weekend, I was thoroughly impressed with S.A. It definitely felt more authentic than an Austin or most other large cities, with more cultural assets and without the trade off of feeling like a dead-end city with no economic prospects. From what I could see, at least downtown, there were several projects, and while it may not be booming, it seems to be growing sustainably. I think you all should consider yourselves lucky. Seems like S.A is one of the few big cities that's found a happy medium.
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"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different"
The issue I have with San Antonio is the way it markets itself.
At some point recently, it self-proclaimed the "Military City" nickname, and has long billed itself around tourism. Problem is, the city is far from a domestic leader in either category (military or tourism). When I think military, San Diego, D.C., Pensacola and a handful of other cities and towns come to mind before I even think about San Antonio. When I think tourism, New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco, New Orleans and a handful of other cities and towns come to mind before S.A.
The city needs to diversify its image beyond being a Tex-Mex, military paradise. That combination allows for limited long-term progress. It needs to either identify a single industry (e.g., biotech, pharma, telecommunications, etc.) and develop a reputation around becoming that industry's hub, or focus on attracting regional offices of several major companies in various (strong) industries that would serve as a catalyst for in-town development along the lines of what's happened in Austin over the past 20 years.
Location: Austin -> San Antonio -> Columbia -> San Antonio -> Chicago -> Austin -> Denver -> Austin
Posts: 5,517
Quote:
Originally Posted by JAYNYC
The issue I have with San Antonio is the way it markets itself.
At some point recently, it self-proclaimed the "Military City" nickname, and has long billed itself around tourism. Problem is, the city is far from a domestic leader in either category (military or tourism). When I think military, San Diego, D.C. and Pensacola.
San Antonio has more military installations, more resident soldiers, and puts more people through basic than those cities COMBINED even after half of it’s capacity was removed after the base closures and realignments through the 80s and 90s. It is bar none the most important city in the military industrial complex from a non-decision making standpoint. Command isn’t there, but if it weren’t for San Antonio there would be nothing to command.
San Antonio has more military installations, more resident soldiers, and puts more people through basic than those cities COMBINED even after half of it’s capacity was removed after the base closures and realignments through the 80s and 90s. It is bar none the most important city in the military industrial complex from a non-decision making standpoint. Command isn’t there, but if it weren’t for San Antonio there would be nothing to command.
I believe SA has around 80,000 active duty members stationed in the city, while SD has around 100,000 active duty personnel mostly sailors and marines.. few coast guards. San Diego has the largest naval fleet on the west coast, it also helps that bio tech and communications are huge industries in the city that collaborate with the military. I think there are more veterans living in SA though due to cheaper homes.
Norfolk has the largest Navy base in the world and also the largest jet base in the US(and I assume the world). San Antonio definitely has a large military and defense presence but I don't think it's the most important in the country.
Norfolk metro has Norfolk Navy base, Oceana, Dam Neck, Little Creek, Fort Story, NATO, Langley, and Fort Eustis.
San Pedro Creek linear park redevelopment downtown
Once fully complete, the San Pedro Creek Culture Park is expected to spur a $1.5 billion economic impact by creating 2,100 new housing units, 1,428 new downtown employees
7,300 new downtown residents, a 150 percent increase in new property value and $227 million in ad valorem tax revenues.
When the four phases are completed, the San Pedro Creek Culture Park will span 2.2 miles through downtown,
beginning at IH-35 at the flood tunnel inlet at Santa Rosa Street and ending at the confluence of the Alazán and Apache Creeks at IH-35 to the south.
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2020 S. A. Pop 1.59 million/ Metro 2.64 million/ASA corridor 5 million Census undercount city proper. San Antonio economy and largest economic sectors. Annual contribution towards GDP. U.S. DOD$48.5billion/Manufacturing $40.5 billion/Healthcare-Biosciences $40 billion/Finance-Insurance $20 billion/Tourism $15 billion/ Technology $10 billion. S.A./ Austin: Tech $25 billion/Manufacturing $11 billion/ Tourism $9 billion.
Last edited by Paul in S.A TX; Jan 25, 2021 at 5:03 AM.
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2020 S. A. Pop 1.59 million/ Metro 2.64 million/ASA corridor 5 million Census undercount city proper. San Antonio economy and largest economic sectors. Annual contribution towards GDP. U.S. DOD$48.5billion/Manufacturing $40.5 billion/Healthcare-Biosciences $40 billion/Finance-Insurance $20 billion/Tourism $15 billion/ Technology $10 billion. S.A./ Austin: Tech $25 billion/Manufacturing $11 billion/ Tourism $9 billion.
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2020 S. A. Pop 1.59 million/ Metro 2.64 million/ASA corridor 5 million Census undercount city proper. San Antonio economy and largest economic sectors. Annual contribution towards GDP. U.S. DOD$48.5billion/Manufacturing $40.5 billion/Healthcare-Biosciences $40 billion/Finance-Insurance $20 billion/Tourism $15 billion/ Technology $10 billion. S.A./ Austin: Tech $25 billion/Manufacturing $11 billion/ Tourism $9 billion.
^^^Just for clarification, SAT's expansion is undergoing a revision. Prior to COVID-19 they were looking at a possible $2B plan with a total buildout completed by 2040. However, changes are expected to that plan due to the pandemic.
Once the plan is finished it must be submitted to the FAA for final approval prior to any implementation at SAT. I believe I saw somewhere that phase 1 construction could start as early as 2023 or 2024.
Additionally, those renderings were a "vision" and the final version is not likely to resemble those - exactly. The terminal layout has yet to be determined.
Thank you for the update. We need more S.A. forumers updating this thread more often.
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2020 S. A. Pop 1.59 million/ Metro 2.64 million/ASA corridor 5 million Census undercount city proper. San Antonio economy and largest economic sectors. Annual contribution towards GDP. U.S. DOD$48.5billion/Manufacturing $40.5 billion/Healthcare-Biosciences $40 billion/Finance-Insurance $20 billion/Tourism $15 billion/ Technology $10 billion. S.A./ Austin: Tech $25 billion/Manufacturing $11 billion/ Tourism $9 billion.
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2020 S. A. Pop 1.59 million/ Metro 2.64 million/ASA corridor 5 million Census undercount city proper. San Antonio economy and largest economic sectors. Annual contribution towards GDP. U.S. DOD$48.5billion/Manufacturing $40.5 billion/Healthcare-Biosciences $40 billion/Finance-Insurance $20 billion/Tourism $15 billion/ Technology $10 billion. S.A./ Austin: Tech $25 billion/Manufacturing $11 billion/ Tourism $9 billion.