SAN ANTONIO | Urban Core Development Thread

[Restless One]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

I was just being playful. Sorry if that didn't come through.

I'd also like to see some taller buildings in SA. I don't see 100 stories any time soon, especially on a small lot such as that. But there are definitely some bigger lots that could accommodate something bigger and taller than what the city has already.

There's been quite a bit of low-to-mid-rises around the urban core in the past several years. As a result, property will be more at a premium and when there's demand, the supply will build up. I look forward to seeing it happen.

I shoulda known you were being playful.

I agree SA will not break the 1,000 foot barrier anytime soon, as we can't break six hundred now, (TOA escluded), but if Austin and OKC can go for 1,000+, I don't see why the SA forum shouldn't at least discuss it, or...well... hope?

[Rynetwo]

In January, an affiliate of Catellus Development Corp., a California company that Opportunity Home recruited to manage the neighborhood’s development, sold 20 lots to Wes Peoples Homes, eight of them on the south side of McMonigal Place and 12 on the west side of McMillan Place, Bexar County deed records show.

Wes Peoples Homes has another 30 lots under contract, its owner Wes Peoples said in a phone interview. Altogether, the company plans to build 42 townhomes and eight three-story “zero-lot-line” homes — a form of garden home — with large front porches, he said. All the homes will have two-car garages, he said.....[

....Several major components of Victoria Commons have yet to be developed, including two vacant lots facing Interstate 37 where Catellus has planned five-story apartment complexes, according to a map provided by Opportunity Home....

https://sanantonioreport.org/opportu...toria-commons/

[SAhometown]

Check this out from last November.

https://vickreyllc.com/about/news/li...ublic-approval

Check out the video!

https://youtu.be/1qfo_E2cvQY?si=wukMsYVTWWiwYKTM

This project would be built along with Riverplace(Dream hotel) project.
Developers are waiting for interest rates to go back down to get started.
Link project is moving forward.

[texboy]

Originally Posted by SAhometown

Check this out from last November.

https://vickreyllc.com/about/news/li...ublic-approval

Check out the video!

https://youtu.be/1qfo_E2cvQY?si=wukMsYVTWWiwYKTM

This project would be built along with Riverplace(Dream hotel) project.
Developers are waiting for interest rates to go back down to get started.
Link project is moving forward.

Ok that looks pretty damn cool. I thought the link was a dumb idea at first, but I can see the appeal and will probably help to continue to spur development over in that part of downtown. Hopefully more residential/office/retail and not a bunch of hotels that cater to tourists.

[jaga185]

According to demo docs from 2/20/24. The demolition was approved for 1220 E Commerce. I saw them starting today.

[jaga185]

Florida group plans sky-high attraction downtown

A Jacksonville, Florida-based company whose partners have ties to Texas plans to develop a new entertainment complex in downtown San Antonio. The project will be anchored by a 200-foot-tall observation wheel.

The towering structure, named Grandisimo, will add a unique element to San Antonio’s skyline and feature climate-controlled gondolas providing riders rare views of the Alamo City spanning more than 20 miles.

“Icon Experiences is making plans to add a giant, elevated entertainment experience to downtown San Antonio,” one of the company’s partners, Eli Stovall, said. “We will have other complementary experiences.”

Icon Experiences' San Antonio plans call for a custom carousel, miniature golf and flavors of Texas.

Plans for the site include a custom-crafted carousel ride and a miniature golf course highlighting local artisans. The complex will also have food and beverage offerings featuring some of the tastes of Texas.

The company did not disclose the cost of the project. Pending local permits and other approvals, construction is slated to begin in 2024 with completion expected by late 2025.

Icon Experiences has been involved in similar projects in several other markets including the KC Wheel in Kansas City, The St. Louis Wheel and the Capital Wheel at National Harbor in Maryland, among others.

Icon Experiences' San Antonio project is slated for a site near E. Houston Street and Interstate 37.

Grandisimo will be the largest experience of its kind in Texas. That’s noteworthy for Stovall and his Icon partner, Curtis Parks, who grew up in the Hill Country area.

“We've been doing projects in other markets through our history, but to be able to come home, this is really special to us,” Parks said.

Keep up with the latest San Antonio headlines by signing up here for SABJ newsletters.

As cities across the country work to draw more people back downtown post-pandemic, Stovall and Parks believe their project will resonate with locals and tourists.

The project will be completely privately funded. The company is not seeking any incentives.

“This will be uniquely San Antonio,” Stovall said, noting that the company expects the project will provide a lift to neighboring businesses as it has in other cities.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Oh gross.
Also isn't there some kind of viewshed protection behind the Alamo? This is directly in line with the rear of the chapel.

[theOGalexd]

Hmmm. Considering these people have a track record of getting stuff built, and this gets rid of that ugly motel there... I'm not mad at it lol.

Realistically I don't think anything else of significance would get built on that lot either. I'd rather see something unique like this than a 4 story low-tier hotel like across the street.

[AwesomeSAView]

This is an excellent entertainment project that will be amazing in downtown San Antonio. The giant ferris wheel alone is amazing! Get this built, please!!! I recall a developer wanted to build a huge ferris wheel somewhere in SA years ago. And it was not downtown. This project comes with other forms of entertainment, like the miniature golf, etc. Get. It. Built!

[SproutingTowers]

That's a really small space and wonder why not have purchased the connecting parking lot. I check out Apple Maps 3D view and looks like you are going to be able to see the ferris wheel behind the Alamo which I had thought there was an ordinance to not allow this. Atlanta has a 200 ft ferris wheel and can see how big it is.

[JACKinBeantown]

Certainly not a huge ferris wheel, but why not. That location is just a seedy motel right now, and SA hasn't had a ferris wheel since Playland Park closed 40 or so years ago.

Maybe Fiesta Texas has one, I don't know. But if so, it doesn't really count because it's in an expensive suburban amusement park that most city residents have never been to.

[Spoiler]

This is the next generation of Alamo-area tourist traps.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by Spoiler

This is the next generation of Alamo-area tourist traps.

But it has a 13-hole mini-golf!

[SpiritofSeguin]

A 20 story view of...what? The Red Roof Inn? Parking lots? The back trees of the Alamo? The Tower, where you will get a superior view for probably less money? It's an awkward location, then again I can't imagine putting a ferris wheel anywhere downtown.

[The Model]

Originally Posted by SpiritofSeguin

A 20 story view of...what? The Red Roof Inn? Parking lots? The back trees of the Alamo? The Tower, where you will get a superior view for probably less money? It's an awkward location, then again I can't imagine putting a ferris wheel anywhere downtown.

Totally agree, the view of the skyline is not good at all from this location.
I had mentioned in a quote a few weeks ago that when they and if they build a land bridge over IH 37 to connect Hemisfair and the Alamodome the ferris wheel could be built on top of the highway. The wheel would have a view of Hemisfair Park and tower!

[wmdwms]

Realistically I don't think anything else of significance would get built on that lot either. I'd rather see something unique like this than a 4 story low-tier hotel like across the street.

I would rather have the 4 story hotel if it's good infill. " First, do no harm!"

Please someone tell me The Link, and this Ferris Wheel are an elaborate April Fools joke.

The ferris wheel is an affront to the Alamo, and any serious proposal UTSA is planning. It would feel more appropriate on the Hemisphere site. Moreover, it is even more kitsch than whatever they are doing across from the Alamo and "The Link" (an otherwise okay, if not neccesary, idea wrapped in a disneyesque design proposal.) It will not age well. Is that a metal wave on the N. Flores Street bridge? There are some great moments in the proposal but that bridge is just bad and makes me question everything else.


https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifesty...k-18489224.php

My apologies to Disney.....they are actually good at kitsch. I hope The Link will not suffer the same fate as the Piazza d'Italia in (New Orleans).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza..._(New_Orleans)

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by wmdwms

I would rather have the 4 story hotel if it's good infill. " First, do no harm!"

Please someone tell me The Link, and this Ferris Wheel are an elaborate April Fools joke.

The ferris wheel is an affront to the Alamo, and any serious proposal UTSA is planning. It would feel more appropriate on the Hemisphere site. Moreover, it is even more kitsch than whatever they are doing across from the Alamo and "The Link" (an otherwise okay, if not neccesary, idea wrapped in a disneyesque design proposal.) It will not age well. Is that a metal wave on the N. Flores Street bridge? There are some great moments in the proposal but that bridge is just bad and makes me question everything else.


https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifesty...k-18489224.php

My apologies to Disney.....they are actually good at kitsch. I hope The Link will not suffer the same fate as the Piazza d'Italia in (New Orleans).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza..._(New_Orleans)

Uh, Hemisfair.

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

Uh, Hemsifair.

Hemisfair.

The ferris wheel is an affront to the Alamo, and any serious proposal UTSA is planning. It would feel more appropriate on the Hemisphere site. Moreover,

It's still a drastic improvement to the tourist attractions that just got kicked out of Alamo Plaza, speaking of kitsch.

[wmdwms]

Originally Posted by Spoiler

Hemisfair.




It's still a drastic improvement to the tourists attractions that just got kicked out of Alamo Plaza, speaking of kitsch.

True enough, but they were not 20 stories. I can't understand how this could be approved and not the Joske's Tower.

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by wmdwms

True enough, but they were not 20 stories. I can't understand how this could be approved and not the Joske's Tower.

It's exempt from height restrictions because it's not a building!