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  #1  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2008, 6:02 AM
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{San Antonio} San Antonio's Newest Urban Neighborhood

South Flores Arts District or more commonly referred to as:


By M.D. Kinkade

A small, graffiti-scrawled office with a large window and broken door stands out like the ugliest duckling at a swan reunion.

A chain-link fence separates the rubble-strewn former used-car lot from its South Flores Street neighbors. It seems to quietly watch as the warehouses, buildings and industrial spaces between Durango Boulevard and Cevallos Street are transformed into lofts, living spaces and art galleries.

It's only a matter of time before the useless abandoned lot is swept up in the growing development of SoFlo, San Antonio's newest downtown neighborhood. Would-be urban dwellers who don't want to pay premium prices for luxury addresses in the city center are increasingly looking to carve their niche out of SoFlo's long-dormant existing buildings and spaces.

"There is a tremendous stock of quirky under-utilized structures and empty sites just waiting for creative inspiration and the urban pioneering spirit," says Mike McGlone, a principal at Alamo Architects. His firm recently relocated to SoFlo from the King William District. The firm revitalized 14,000 square feet of existing space - and even recycled much of the materials - to create a building that is part homage to the industrial past and part picture of things to come.

With city and county offices to the north and an emerging art scene to the south, SoFlo has the potential to be one of San Antonio's unique addresses.

"It reminds me, in a way, of the gritty urbanity of the SoHo and Tribeca areas of lower Manhattan in the '70s and early '80s where people were living and working in lofts above steel shelving manufacturers or rag merchants, and eating and drinking at the local neighborhood tavern or Chinese restaurants," McGlone says.

SoFlo development got a kick-start in 2003 when artist, developer and noted local philanthropist Linda Pace opened Camp Street Lofts at South Flores and Camp streets (shown above). The district's proximity to King William, the Blue Star arts compound and the emerging Southtown scene - and the abundance of available space for transformation - has enticed a host of developers to put their mark on the area.

Whiddon Development Co. is building luxury townhomes near South Alamo, while an Austin developer is converting the 93-year-old Peden Iron and Steel Co. building to upscale condominiums. Whiddon also redeveloped a 1925 fire station as two 2,500-square-foot condos.

San Antonio developer Dan Markson is planning market-rate apartments in a 10-acre tract of urban industrial space near Cevallos Street. Even the long-empty Judson Candy Co. - a unique space that has had many suitors but no buyers since closing in the 1990s - is being developed as loft spaces.

SoFlo's bohemian vibe comes from a growing arts scene, including a cluster of art galleries known collectively as the South Flores Arts District. Six up-and-coming arts complexes make up the district, including Gallista, Fl!ght, Lonestar Studios, One9Zero6, Salon Mijangos and Triangle Project Space. Because the arts center straddles South Flores Street and Lone Star Boulevard.

And the art scene is growing. For example, Bill FitzGibbons, executive director of Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, along with his wife Ann, are working with the city to develop a mixed-use space featuring artist spaces and condos at the intersection of South Flores and Lone Star.

Alamo's McGlone sees SoFlo as a unique feature on San Antonio's downtown profile. "It will be a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood, filled with traditional and new uses, accessible by pedestrians, bikes and public transit. It will be woven into the fabric of the river, the near West Side, King William and downtown," he says. "It has the opportunity to be San Antonio's first real 'new neighborhood.' "

With prices ranging from $145,000 to about $600,000, SoFlo is affordable for suburban dwellers interested in city living and urban dwellers looking for a change.

But SoFlo faces the same challenges other downtown developments have faced. The retail and services common to most suburban neighborhoods haven't established a significant foothold in the area.

The solution, McGlone says, lies in the build-it-and-they-will-come theory. "In the short term, (SoFlo) needs more residents. More residents will create the demand for more local retail and services at the scale of a traditional pedestrian neighborhood."

If more residents are the key to long-term success, SoFlo is well on its way. Lofts, condominiums and townhomes are sold before they are finished, and more are being built every day as people tune in to the vibe coming from San Antonio's new neighborhood.

"There is a tremendous energy and enthusiasm about the place," McGlone says. "Being a part of it at the beginning is very exciting. And I believe that there is a place for everyone."
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  #2  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2008, 5:13 PM
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More good news for S.A!
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  #3  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2008, 6:15 AM
TXlifeguard TXlifeguard is offline
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New Rule: Developers/Architects are now banned from using the word 'vibrant'.

It's their favorite buzzword, and in its' overuse has become benign and obnoxious. Like if they throw it in there enough, people will flock to their development, sell their cars, and ride some restored 1920's streetcar to their jobs at a internet startup in a similarly 'vibrant' former warehouse.

Corillary to the above rule: repeating something does not make it so.

It's like those people who repeatedly edit SA's wikipedia page to include nicknames for neighborhoods/areas of town that no one has 1) ever heard of by that name before and 2) couldn't agree on an exact geographic location (example: uptown SA). Good rule of thumb: If you coined the nickname, or know the person who did, it's not a real nickname. Geographic nicknames, like 'vibrant' urban areas, are organic in nature, and not forced.

Finally, we can all agree that the acronym/abbreviation thing for a neighborhood is cool. SoHo, NoHo, NoLIta, TriBeCa, etc. But that's NYC's thing. Why do we (and other cities) seem compelled to believe that a 'vibrant' area is only really 'vibrant' if it has a New York style sounding name? The especially ironic part is that most NYC neighborhoods aren't acronyms. So what gives? To me sounds like some dudes trying too hard to be cool.
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  #4  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2008, 7:29 AM
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Well on the subject of the naming of areas TXLifeguard....SA does actually have named districts. I will see If I can't find the link...I think it is actually on the cities website.

Anywho...sounds like you are getting your panties in a wad over something pretty silly...
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  #5  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2008, 11:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXlifeguard View Post
Finally, we can all agree that the acronym/abbreviation thing for a neighborhood is cool. SoHo, NoHo, NoLIta, TriBeCa, etc. But that's NYC's thing. Why do we (and other cities) seem compelled to believe that a 'vibrant' area is only really 'vibrant' if it has a New York style sounding name? The especially ironic part is that most NYC neighborhoods aren't acronyms. So what gives? To me sounds like some dudes trying too hard to be cool.
I honestly think that SoFlo is the only syllabic abbreviation in San Antonio. At least the only publicly acknowledged one, so no need to go Apocalypse Now on use. lol

I personally don't see any harm in calling it that. There's Southtown, King William and Lavaca and right there, now there's SoFlo.
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  #6  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2008, 5:38 PM
kornbread kornbread is offline
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Buzzwords will drive you crazy. It's part of the commercial world. Just read home listings or tourism brochures. I mean, they have to try to make it sound appealing.

I totally agree with the wikipedia statement where someone tried to make it sound like all these "districts" existed. That's why wikipedia should never be your only source.

If the people in a neighborhood want to call it a cretain name, then that's the name that will eventually stick.

That was my criticism of the so-called "East Town". There's no one there to own that; may as well call it Bufferville.
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  #7  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2008, 6:04 PM
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I just looked up East Town and found that it doesn't cover the area that the A&E District would.

East Town is a commercial district along both Commerce and Houston St from about the tracks to MLK.
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 1:36 AM
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We have a bunch of nicknames for certain areas of Austin, though now they're pretty much accepted as legit by everyone inside and out of those areas.

SoCo - South Congress - Refers to Congress Avenue south of the river, which at that point is called South Congress Avenue.

LoCo - Lower Congress - Refers to the area of South Congress that is typically south of Ben White Boulevard.

SoLa - South Lamar - Refers to the area around South Lamar Boulevard. Again, Lamar Boulevard like Congress, is known as 'South' once it crosses the river to the south. By the way, anything south of the river in Austin is also known as South Austin.
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Last edited by KevinFromTexas; Mar 20, 2008 at 1:49 AM.
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 1:43 AM
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I thought Loco was west of Guadalupe between 38th and 45th
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  #10  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 1:49 AM
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I have no idea. I hail from South Austin, so I don't know that area very well. But someone had posted an article a while back calling lower South Congress 'LoCo'. What does the Loco stand for in the 38th to 45th area around Guadalupe?
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 4:15 AM
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What does the Loco stand for in the 38th to 45th area around Guadalupe?

Crazy
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  #12  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 4:26 AM
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Haha
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 4:50 AM
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Well I can't wait til the DoDo district comes around. A district with lots of things to see and do!
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 5:10 AM
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^ lol

"So what did you do while you were in town, Bob? Well, Hank, I hung around downtown for a bit and saw what was to be seen there. Went to several bars downtown, had a great meal at this one restaurant in Uptown. Then I stepped in DoDo and looked around there for a bit. I'm definitely planning on going back again and sniffing around DoDo some more."

Hahahahaha
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  #15  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 5:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam View Post
I just looked up East Town and found that it doesn't cover the area that the A&E District would.

East Town is a commercial district along both Commerce and Houston St from about the tracks to MLK.
MLK runs parallel to Commerce, while the tracks are perpindicular.

Isn't that already a recognized neighborhood (Dignowity Hill).
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/sat/dhna/map/

How about Dig'it Hill? That sounds like there might be some cool places to hang. Then you can call your friends and ask if they want to go hear some music and all you have to say is "Can you Dig'it?"

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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 3:50 PM
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I meant the MLK statue on New Braunfels.
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  #17  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 5:02 PM
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Yeah there is a name for the area east of downtown. Its called the East Side, you cant get any more simplier then that...
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  #18  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 5:32 PM
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The "East Side" is a large area, what we're talking about is a relatively small area just east of downtown that is being considered the location of the Arts and Entertainment District.

This area in blue:


It's currently part of Dignowity Hill.

The Vidorra condos are going up in that area.
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 6:41 PM
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I know where the Vidorra condos are.

Anyhow what is this "Arts and Entertainment District." The only arts and entertainment in that area is graffiti and someone being arrested. The Alamodome does not count, its a whole separate thing. There use to be a club right across the tracks from the spaghetti warehouse, but it closed a few years ago, it was sad, it was a good club, they played trance and tech…
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Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 6:51 PM
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sirkingwilliam sirkingwilliam is offline
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Originally Posted by Complex01 View Post
I know where the Vidorra condos are.

Anyhow what is this "Arts and Entertainment District." The only arts and entertainment in that area is graffiti and someone being arrested. The Alamodome does not count, its a whole separate thing. There use to be a club right across the tracks from the spaghetti warehouse, but it closed a few years ago, it was sad, it was a good club, they played trance and tech…
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=146582

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...t.367ab12.html
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