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  #1  
Old Posted May 14, 2007, 3:27 PM
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SA - Stevens Ranch - 1 million square foot center.

I found some information on Stevens Ranch, from the layout of the entire community to the one million square foot retail center. This area of San Antonio is exploding with residential growth.

Shopping center just after you go through the main entrance.


Entire layout.


Main entrance.


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  #2  
Old Posted May 14, 2007, 4:34 PM
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Sprawl Antonio strikes again.

Looks nice, but the number of 1 million sqft centers makes me believe that we will one day in the not too distant future have a number of empty, rotting centers - think Windsor Park Mall, Central Park Mall, Westlakes Mall, Crossroads Mall.

These are really no different, just the new take (with new paint) on the old retail concept.

As with all of my pessimism, I hope I am wrong. (Or, maybe I hope I am right - that might offer more opportunity for interesting infill developments as the old, rotting shopping centers get redeveloped.)
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  #3  
Old Posted May 14, 2007, 4:57 PM
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But if you really analyze it, Windsor Park Mall is on the way to becoming a USAA like campusfor Rackspace. Westlakes is going to be home to an a new shopping center anchored by HEB Plus!, Central Park Mall iwill now be larger as Park North Plaza, Crossroads Mall although not the dominant force it used to be is still alive and kicking.

Developers are building the shopping center because of demand with the growth San Antonio is currently going through and will continue to go through. All is well in the Alamo City.
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  #4  
Old Posted May 14, 2007, 6:05 PM
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^ Ya, everything is cyclical. I hope the cycle that has seen the redevelopment of Central Park, Windsor, and Westlakes is quicker to come for the next generation of properties that fall on hard times. It definitely makes for interesting reading for us.
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  #5  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 12:32 PM
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Good for you guys......Westlakes and Windsor park needed these changes. HEB Plus is a great store. I remember when the one on Military dr opened up. I admit I liked it and I kinda figured they would open more of those big box stores. Here in Tucson a couple of our malls are experiencing a rebirth of sorts. The big deal here is that In N out Burger opened near one of the malls going through transition (El Con Mall) Now chick Fil A and ross are coming to this otherwise dying mall. Shows for big promise.
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  #6  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 5:29 PM
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I just don't feel that what I see here is any different than what I see going on in other cities. It seems like we're just trying to get "more" of "the usual". It seems to me like we've gotten more sterile residential development but I don't really think that it has a lot of character. It's just "Anytown, USA" and it's really boring.

One thing, there is a large space of undeveloped land in between this development and the rest of the developed areas of San Antonio. Also, this development puts all of the commercial development along state highway 211 and that's something that I don't agree with. I would rather see the commercial development built in the residential neighborhoods.
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  #7  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 7:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sakyle04 View Post
Sprawl Antonio strikes again.
If you look at any of the other regional forums, there is nary a discussion of big box and suburban housing developments. But for some reason in SA it's considered noteworthy.
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  #8  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 8:11 PM
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Quote:
If you look at any of the other regional forums, there is nary a discussion of big box and suburban housing developments. But for some reason in SA it's considered noteworthy.
I think we are desperate to talk about any development and the amount of high-rise related stuff just isn't satisfying us at this point.

It is funny, though, that it has reduced us to talking about sprawling big box centers - the very antithesis of skyscrapers.
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  #9  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 10:43 PM
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I think the noteworthy subject matter of this thread is the size (one million square feet) of the development. However, to make San Antonio out to be the only Texas city that has suburban big box developments posted on here is a laugh. There have been plenty of threads created about sprawling developments. Some with even you arbeiter commentating to your surpirse that the town its being built in has enough people to get a big box retail center.

I hate sprawl, don't let my posting on it lead you to believe I don't.
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  #10  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 10:51 PM
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I think San Antonians are unlike the rest of the forumers because their only concern is discussing new developments. Because of this they are willing to discuss any development no matter the quality.

That is why I also never see San Antonians talk about other things that we may talk about such as increasing housing prices, noise pollution effects on the neighborhoods, environmental protection, improving downtown environment etc.
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  #11  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 10:54 PM
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Here's a aerial of west Bexar county that shows what's being built out there.



Both Stevens Ranch and Redbird Ranch are under construction. Redbird is farther along than Stevens Ranch.
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  #12  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 10:55 PM
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Oh man, is this going to become a bash San Antonio thread? If so, I should have never even posted this stuff because that was not my intention. Instead of that can we just talk about the development? If that can't be done, I'd just like for a mod to delete this thread then.
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  #13  
Old Posted May 15, 2007, 11:36 PM
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Yes and the assessment of this development is that it is not a positive development.
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  #14  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 12:00 AM
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i must agree. there have been one too many "boxy sprawly" projects in san antonio and im tired of it. i'd rather nothing get built, than see this stuff go up. i hate this sprawl crap. luckily i dont live in town, and don't have to see it all the time. this is my hometown, but i have to bash this kind of crap. we have enough shops and restaurants.
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  #15  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 1:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Double L View Post
Yes and the assessment of this development is that it is not a positive development.
Then that's all that has to be said. But the turning it into something it isn't nor was ever intended to be is what I am talking about. I don't like the sprawl either but thought about posting this because of past threads dealing with slightly thr same subject matter concerning other Texas cities. There was no bashing in those thread but actually praise. And I do however like Stevens Ranch because of the set up, on side will have single family homes, schools, parks and the other will have multifamily buildings, office parks and retail shopping.

Better than most suburban subdivisio developments.
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  #16  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 1:24 AM
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Sadly this kind of development has to happen though for people to start realizing how important it is to start building up.

I hate comparing Austin to San Antonio, but Im going to. Look at Austin. In the late 90's suburban sprawl started scrapping the land clean of its natural beauty, and people started noticing it and started wanting to do something about it. Solution-build up.

I believe this is what is going to happen in SA as well, maybe even on a larger scale....we just have to be patient and keep pushing our city leaders to start looking at counter acting the sprawl.
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  #17  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 2:45 AM
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Nothing is ever going to stop suburban building, atleast not in our life times. Building up in the urban cores is going to solve very little in terms of sprawl. At most, building downtown in any city will yield 2,000-5,000 units every 2-5 years, that's via boom. COmpared to 20,000 or 30,000 units in the suburbs in one year.

It's sad sure, but that is the demand in most cities.
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  #18  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 3:13 AM
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Im not talking just downtown though. If there is cheaper land outside the CBD say inside 410 or inside 1604...why aren't developers building highrises there? Profit potential is way higher than in the CBD. We are never going to be able to stop sprawl completely...but I don't see why developers aren't taking opportunities to build higher outside downtown, and I don't see how cities like San Antonio and its leaders can sit there and bitch and complain about how bad traffic is, and how our natural landscape is being depleted and then they do close to nothing about it! They say well we don't have the money for road improvements....well why not start creating districts...once again like Austins Second downtown....that relax height restrictions in order to get more denisity in different areas of the city. All you have to do is take a look at Vancouver to see that building highrises that are funtional, relatively cheap, and decent looking is not as hard as you think. And most of them aren't in the official CBD, but right outside of it.
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  #19  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 3:34 AM
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City governments do not control demand. If city leaders today said they'drelax on all height restrictions, design restrictions, and all other red tape but the demand was still for suburban tract houses, developers are going to build them and not in the core. The demand has to be there. And there is no growth of demand anywhere in the US on the level of China, Japan or the middle east (Dubai). The closest would be Las Vegas yet their sprawl continues as fast and as bad as ever.
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  #20  
Old Posted May 16, 2007, 4:23 AM
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Good god man, I don't even wanna imagine 1604 in a few years. It's already down right awful. But with all this its only gonna get that much worse.
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