SAN ANTONIO | Urban Core Development Thread

[KevinFromTexas]

Anyone know where this photo was taken?


San Antonio skyline by Kevin G. Saunders. - http://therivardreport.com/san-anton...y-on-the-rise/

[JACKinBeantown]

Did you ask Kevin Saunders?

[miaht82]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Anyone know where this photo was taken?


San Antonio skyline by Kevin G. Saunders. - http://therivardreport.com/san-anton...y-on-the-rise/

The fact that the Univision tower and Weston Center line up, and the TofA and Federal building line up, leads me to the Big Tex silo. That angle also keeps the Pioneer Flour Mills tower out of the shot. Anything further back (say from 10/90/87 over Probandt) would include the Pioneer tower.

Plus that palm tree in the lower left side above the "ers" is behind a house near the corner of Guenther and Constance.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Definitely from Big Tex. The neighborhood in the foreground is almost certainly baja king william.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by miaht82

The fact that the Univision tower and Weston Center line up, and the TofA and Federal building line up, leads me to the Big Tex silo. That angle also keeps the Pioneer Flour Mills tower out of the shot. Anything further back (say from 10/90/87 over Probandt) would include the Pioneer tower.

Plus that palm tree in the lower left side above the "ers" is behind a house near the corner of Guenther and Constance.

Ah... satellite view.

[sirkingwilliam]

This is a really cool video showing the Pearl Farmers Market. Everyone should watch it.

http://vimeo.com/m/74328888

It's by Scott Martin.

[JACKinBeantown]

Nice job, Scott Martin!

The video gives a really nice tour of the area, and I can say without a doubt that the editing took a lot more work than it looks like. He didn't just speed the "film" up, he did stops, layered effects and other nice little edits.

The area looks really nice. I grew up in SA but haven't been to the Pearl yet. Next time I'm in town I definitely want to check it out.

[WorldTexas]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

H-E-B building store in the SoFlo neighborhood.

While on a bike ride through the neighborhood this weekend, I realized for the first time that H-E-B has a very large parking lot between its buildings and Caesar Chavez. I confirmed this on Google Maps.

So why do they need to close Main Street?

In my very non-expert view it looks like they could easily triple or more their office space by simply developing the huge surface lot. They could have the continuous campus they want by going vertical.

I think we're getting the very short end of the stick on the proposed deal.

[Fireoutofclay]

Originally Posted by WorldTexas

While on a bike ride through the neighborhood this weekend, I realized for the first time that H-E-B has a very large parking lot between its buildings and Caesar Chavez. I confirmed this on Google Maps.

So why do they need to close Main Street?

In my very non-expert view it looks like they could easily triple or more their office space by simply developing the huge surface lot. They could have the continuous campus they want by going vertical.

I think we're getting the very short end of the stick on the proposed deal.

I agree, World. I think this is the only reason HEB put in a bid. They saw an opprtunity to close Main to everyone, like they've been wanting to do since they moved into that area. Screw that. We keep closing streets and 5 years from now, when street traffic is worse, no one will want to bother with that microHEB.

[kornbread]

I don't have a problem with HEB's request for closing Main Street. They are one of a few major corporate employers with a presence downtown and they are interested in expanding downtown. They own the outer properties across Main. Closing this section of Main presents no traffic problems. Their main parking lot has a good number of trees, while the other properties on Flores do not. I would prefer they build up the Flores lots.

I was against the city incentive for a grocery store. I thought they should just let it play out on it's own and eventually one would get added when downtown was ready. I think HEB is submitting this proposal only because the city requested that they do. They would have probably requested the closure anyway.

They don't have any experience in building an urban market; they build strip center's. So, I'll cut them some slack in trying to figure this out.

[sirkingwilliam]

Some good news regarding the downtown HEB store.

With regards to the small-ish size of the proposed store:

“We believe that's the square footage that could possibly be supported at this time,” said Dya Campos, an H-E-B spokeswoman.

And in the future?

“There is potential for the current concept to go vertical, if needed.”

So it looks as though the store will get taller as demand grows.

LINK

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Originally Posted by kornbread

They don't have any experience in building an urban market; they build strip center's. So, I'll cut them some slack in trying to figure this out.

Not quite true. Both Laredo and Brownsville have very urban HEB's in their downtown retail districts:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Lared...286.39,,0,5.31

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Brown...148.18,,0,5.52

[miaht82]

So just throwing this question out there, kind of just to gather everyone's thoughts:
So both Laredo and Brownsville have DT grocery stores and plenty of retail on the street (as can be witnessed through the powers of GoogleStreet view), so where are their residential developments and offices being built for the jobs that grocery stores can only bring?
Again, I already have my thoughts on the whole grocery store "chicken & egg" theory. I don't expect an answer directed AT ME, just trying to get everyone's thoughts on this.

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Well, I would argue that border cities whose urban cores are right on the border have an entirely different dynamic than the other Texas cities. There's a huge amount of pedestrian traffic over the international bridges because people don't want to/don't have the time to wait in line to drive over the bridges. This fuels vibrant low-end retail districts in Brownsville, Laredo and El Paso that are pretty unique, hence the urban HEBs. Therefore I think these are examples that are independent of the office/residential chicken and the egg calculus that SA is dealing with.

[WorldTexas]

Looks like Alamo Brewery is all set to move forward. They're going to include some of the material salvaged during the bridge's restoration into the new building's design.

Alamo Beer Company finalizes funding for brewery
BY MARKUS HAAS

Alamo Beer Company founder and CEO Eugene Simor announced Friday afternoon that he has secured a $5 million loan from the Small Business Administration that will provide the financing for the construction of its future home.
...
The funding secured Friday will allow construction to begin in early December...

Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/food/20...g-for-brewery/

[WorldTexas]

A renovation and addition to the Fish Market and Sullivan buildings on Commerce is on next week's HDRC agenda.

It's a much smaller proposal than the hotel we saw a few years ago. They're proposing three levels of commercial space with two levels of small apartments above.

I'm disappointed it's not taller, but it does look like a good use of the existing space. It would be nice to see that corner cleaned up and the building get used.

On the same block, I've seen some work Douglas Architects has done for the old Chinese restaurant building abutting the bridge. Looks like the owner is considering a reuse of the existing structure, not sure of the intended use.

[WorldTexas]

Originally Posted by kornbread

They own the outer properties across Main. Closing this section of Main presents no traffic problems. Their main parking lot has a good number of trees, while the other properties on Flores do not. I would prefer they build up the Flores lots.

It's true Main doesn't get a tremendous amount of vehicular traffic, but I still see the closure as unnecessary. Main is an important connection for the neighborhood south of Arsenal into downtown. I imagine that connection will only get more important as the SoFlo and Lone Star neighborhoods are redeveloped. Main is also a great street for cyclists because it has a lower traffic count than Flores.

HEB could easily build vertically on either side of Main. While generally, I'm all for tree preservation, I could make an exception here if it meant the construction of a new multi-level office building and associated parking. The trees could be replaced with street trees. With VIA having chosen to run the streetcar down Chavez, that parking lot is now even better real estate than it was before. Putting a new corporate building right there might also help feed the ridership for the line, which will be very, very important.

Originally Posted by kornbread

They don't have any experience in building an urban market; they build strip center's. So, I'll cut them some slack in trying to figure this out.

I don't know if I would cut them any slack. They've proven they are more than capable of adapting to new markets and designing new concepts. They're the 12th largest largest private company in the U.S. and Charles Butt is one of the richest men in the world. The company has the resources to hire the best consultants and planners for an urban market and to keep it afloat while they refine the model to fit downtown's needs.

[kornbread]

Originally Posted by WorldTexas

It's true Main doesn't get a tremendous amount of vehicular traffic, but I still see the closure as unnecessary. Main is an important connection for the neighborhood south of Arsenal into downtown. I imagine that connection will only get more important as the SoFlo and Lone Star neighborhoods are redeveloped. Main is also a great street for cyclists because it has a lower traffic count than Flores.

It's just as easy for the neighborhood and cyclists use Flores. If Flores is unsafe for cyclists, then they need to make changes to that road anyway.

HEB could easily build vertically on either side of Main. While generally, I'm all for tree preservation, I could make an exception here if it meant the construction of a new multi-level office building and associated parking. The trees could be replaced with street trees. With VIA having chosen to run the streetcar down Chavez, that parking lot is now even better real estate than it was before. Putting a new corporate building right there might also help feed the ridership for the line, which will be very, very important.

The HEB headquarters will already feed ridership, putting it right next to the street does not increase that. What ends up getting built will probably be smaller than what most imagine they need. They own the properties on Flores and they have already decided to grow there. It makes sense.

I don't know if I would cut them any slack. They've proven they are more than capable of adapting to new markets and designing new concepts. They're the 12th largest largest private company in the U.S. and Charles Butt is one of the richest men in the world. The company has the resources to hire the best consultants and planners for an urban market and to keep it afloat while they refine the model to fit downtown's needs.

I'm sure that's exactly what they did. They have expectations of this area and the design reflects that. Apparently their plan is to go vertical when the need arises to increase the space.

Personally I think that if they think the area is not ready for what fits with their business model, then just don't do it. I understand why the city wants them to do it. It's a leadership thing and the city has offered to be a partner in loss. HEB has said that they don't expect the store to be profitable for 5 years and their own description of what the store will carry seems to cater to tourists and downtown office workers as much as residents. Combine that with the size of the store and you can see how far away downtown is from getting a larger store. Trader Joe's decided to expand and they did not choose downtown. These guys are doing their homework. They know the business better than any of us.

[sirkingwilliam]

Children's museum will mix fun and learning

Welcome to the San Antonio Children's Museum, the 2.0 version, a $46-million, 68,000-square-foot compound being constructed on a 5.4-acre site on Broadway at Humphrey Street. Fundraising is 90 percent complete, said museum director Vanessa Lacoss Hurd, with the largest gift of $20 million coming from Charles Butt, chairman and CEO of H-E-B, in 2011. The City of San Antonio contributed $3 million.

“San Antonio children are tops and they deserve a first-class children's museum,” Butt said in a statement at the time. “When properly done, children's museums contribute significantly to the creative development and education of our young people.”

Set to be finished in a year, the children's museum will open to the public in June 2015 after its 27,000 square feet of indoor gallery space and 19,000 square feet of outdoor space are outfitted with hands-on exhibitions.

[sirkingwilliam]

Six-story parking garage planned for site near the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

A deal is in the works that would remove a potential impediment to the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts when it opens next year — not enough nearby parking for day-time events. On Tuesday, the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation and the First Baptist Church of San Antonio signed a letter of intent for a 50-year land lease for a $10 million, 520-space parking garage for the performing arts facility.

Although a contractor has not been named for the six-story garage, the structure is expected to be completed in time for the Tobin Center's opening in September 2014, said former Mayor Phil Hardberger, vice chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation board.

There will be retail on the ground floor and a walkway connection between the Tobin Center and the parking garage.

About 4,500 additional square feet of the garage's street level will be prepared for retail space, Green said.

A block-long, arcade-style pedestrian walkway will connect the garage with the Tobin Center and its surrounding street, Auditorium Circle, Green said.