Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul in S.A TX
A Strong diversified economy compared to most U.S. cities. Pretty much all big Texas cities are sucessful. Tourisim is huge in S.A. but it happens to be the 5th largest industry, so it's not only a tourisim driven city.
|
For one I was referring to the central city not San Antonio as a whole, as the thread was centered around a downtown bookstore.
I could sit here and argue what things about Greater San Antonio bother me, but that is for a different thread.
The real question you have to ask is...what sort of downtown do you want? I here people all the time say that San Antonio needs taller building (at least something over 500'), but you have to ask yourself why would anyone build a 500'+ building in downtown San Antonio. There is hardly a corporate presence in downtown. Other than Frost, AT&T, CoSA, CPS, and Bexar County, there are not many major employers other than Tourism Downtown.
Everyone is so exited about the Vidorra and the Hyatt, for good reason, its so nice to see something new in the skyline. I for one would like to see some more residential for the young professional, something that is reasonable. I believe That Downtown needs an apartment market, not just condos.
I like the Vistanna developement alot, eventhough it is a little more expensive. The San Pedro Creek District (where the Vistanna is) is a key area. UTSA wants to expand there downtown campus including housing/apartments. There is a lot of other developement planned and proposed in this area including: Federal Courthouse, Bexar County 10-story office building, Police Headquarters, and W Commerce street redevelopment. This should be a busy area for the next 5-10 years.
Hopefully River North will spawn a more mixed residential neighborhood developement, but the verdict is still out on that.
I just realized that I am ranting like crazy, so I will stop.
Downtown is not the epitomy of a successfull downtown of a major city. It is tourism and local government dominated, but needs more private businesses and housing.
How you view San Antonio's Downtown or the city as a whole depends on your perspective.