SAN ANTONIO | Urban Core Development Thread

[WorldTexas]

It looks like the King William Association currently opposes the closure of Main, echoing some of the reasons outlined here before.

King William Association opposes Main Avenue closure
BY BENJAMIN OLIVO

The King William Association has come out against H-E-B’s request to permanently close a block of South Main Avenue, from César E. Chávez Boulevard to Arsenal Street, for a downtown grocery store.

Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/downtow...venue-closure/

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

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

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

Great news, but it looks like it's going to require the demolition of two historic structures (The building that's called something like the Lao-Thai Baptist Mission which has that really cool Spanish revival facade facing the Tobin Center as well as that little single family house on 4th street that I believe was built in the 1890s). Why not put the walkway through that ugly parking lot next door? That whole parking lot would make a nice accessory green space for the garage.

[aggie2008]

Looks like the Cherry Street Modern project is kicking off. Here's some pictures I took this morning. If all of these things sell for the average 180k they're asking, that's 2.1m in Dignowity Hill. Pretty exciting project for the hood! If you can't see it, they have four frames up for a foundation pour as well as electrical and plumbing put in for all 12 units.





Also, the brewery secured funding and has hired a head brewer, expecting to break ground in December for a November 2014 opening. Very good news for the area, IMO.

[miaht82]

Originally Posted by aggie2008

Looks like the Cherry Street Modern project is kicking off. Here's some pictures I took this morning. If all of these things sell for the average 180k they're asking, that's 2.1m in Dignowity Hill. Pretty exciting project for the hood! If you can't see it, they have four frames up for a foundation pour as well as electrical and plumbing put in for all 12 units.

Also, the brewery secured funding and has hired a head brewer, expecting to break ground in December for a November 2014 opening. Very good news for the area, IMO.

Great news IMO also. The proximity of these two projects in relation to one another and also the other project(s) that was/were on the HDRC agenda last month (on Austin St.) is all very good news for the area. It will definitely have a greater impact from the start than if they were spread out at random points of the neighborhood

[sirkingwilliam]

I moved the Dignowity Hill thread posts to this thread because Dignowity Hill would be considered part of the urban core.

[WorldTexas]

There is a great story this week in The Atlantic Cities titled, "The Problem with Defining Downtown."

The coolest part is this tool that lets you look at the dynamics of major employment areas. In SA they looked at downtown and the Medical Center. You can see the total number of jobs and the number of people who both live and work in the same area.

http://definingdowntown.org/maps/

[kornbread]

There is a decent article on downtown development in the Current:
city-scrapes-downtown-development-still-lacks-core-strength

[21bl0wed]

Originally Posted by kornbread

There is a decent article on downtown development in the Current:
city-scrapes-downtown-development-still-lacks-core-strength

Great article! I agree with the writer things like the pearl development are doing more harm than good.

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by 21bl0wed

Great article! I agree with the writer things like the pearl development are doing more harm than good.

I honestly don't see how that is even possible.

The Pearl is creating a demand. How is that harmful?

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by 21bl0wed

things like the pearl development are doing more harm than good.

You will have trouble substantiating that claim.

[sirkingwilliam]

Pearl developer makes big land purchase on Broadway


The Broadway corridor and The Pearl are seen in this Oct. 25, 2012 aerial photo.

Already a sprawling campus, the Pearl Brewery continues to extend its reach just north of downtown.

The latest transaction involves a 3.2-acre site along Broadway, between Pearl Parkway and East Grayson Street. San Antonio Retail Merchants Association sold the property to Broadway SA Investors GP LLC, an entity associated with Silver Ventures, the developer of the mixed-use Pearl.

At least two entities affiliated with Silver Ventures — Broadway SA Investors GP LLC and Rio Perla Properties LP — own more than 40 properties in and around the 30-acre Pearl campus. The total combined assessed value of those properties is about $43.7 million.

A couple of years ago, the development firm purchased several lots west of the San Antonio River. A timeline hasn't been disclosed but the firm plans to build as many as 800 apartments there, bringing the Pearl's total residential footprint to about 1,200 units.

Currently, there are more than 300 residential units scattered throughout the Pearl and another 102 units are under construction at the Cellars project, an upscale apartment community that's expected to open in 2015.

Construction also started on the 146-room Hotel Pearl, which will be located in the historic brewhouse. It's expected to open late next year.

New land purchased by Pearl developer in red.

[whatdoyouwantandwhy]

NICE! Hopefully it is 8+ stories but I am betting on 4-6 floors. Either way it is still great to see this urban village grow.

What would be really cool is if they changed up from the rectangular look, and added some more complexity to the architecture in that area. a simple cupola on the corner or something...

[sirkingwilliam]

City OKs $7.7 million for UIW med school

The City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $7.7 million funding agreement for infrastructure improvements and job incentives, some of which will literally help pave the way for the University of the Incarnate Word to build an osteopathic medical school in downtown San Antonio.

Mayor Julián Castro said the medical school fits a vision of San Antonio with more higher education and graduate-level opportunities. Councilman Diego Bernal, in whose district the school would be located, called it a “huge win for downtown.”

Last month, UIW signed a letter of intent with the San Antonio Independent School District to lease up to three acres of Fox Tech High School's unused athletic fields to build the medical school.

The city funding agreement includes $6.9 million to construct a new two-lane road to be called Medical Arts Boulevard, which would extend from Camaron Street toward Soledad Street, to extend a water line, and to make improvements to North Flores Street from West Quincy Street toward the Fox Tech campus, according to council documents.

[sirkingwilliam]

The Rolling Home Townhouses development in Deep South* was given HDRC approval.

*Deep South is what my friend, who lives in Southtown, called the area when we drove by the site about a month ago. I like the name.

[sirkingwilliam]

Location of this development in relation to the rest of the urban core.

[miaht82]

Roosevelt Park and St. Cecilia's are the two names I've heard it referred to as.

Either way, it'll be called whatever the consensus amongst locals (who at least frequent the area or live in the area) turns out to be. I know Southtown has a way to go to reach full maturation (IMO) but with this going on "past the tracks" and Freetail opening a second location a few blocks away, also on "this" side of the tracks, it should get a pretty good push between the points.

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by miaht82

Roosevelt Park and St. Cecilia's are the two names I've heard it referred to as.

Either way, it'll be called whatever the consensus amongst locals (who at least frequent the area or live in the area) turns out to be. I know Southtown has a way to go to reach full maturation (IMO) but with this going on "past the tracks" and Freetail opening a second location a few blocks away, also on "this" side of the tracks, it should get a pretty good push between the points.

That's what he said. The area south of the tracks was Deep South.

As for Southtown, that seems to be universally accepted city wide. The only people who don't really refer to it or don't like it are ironically, a lot of King William residents.

[kornbread]

C'mon man! Easttown Entertainment District?

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by kornbread

C'mon man! Easttown Entertainment District?

I contemplated putting it there, but tis a real thing. Though, I screwed up and it's actually Eastside Entertainment District. That area just east of downtown is actually called Easttown by the city.

[Paul in S.A TX]

Whats going on with the Joske's project?