Downtown San
Antonio
Its Time has Come Again

By Leigh Baldwin

There’s been a wonderful outpouring of nostalgia for downtown San Antonio’s mid-century heyday recently, from the tender memories of John Philip Santos’ Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation to Paula Allen’s fascinating local history column in the Express-News. San Antonians, whether life-long residents or recent transplants, love to imagine a San Antonio city center bustling with locals taking advantage of the glamorous décor of the Empire Theatre or eating lunch at the Kress five-and-dime.

No offense, amateur historians, but the time has come to start looking forward, not back. As we approach 2007, San Antonio is entering a new Golden Age of downtown momentum and vision. It started slowly, with such trailblazing efforts as the Houston Street Court revitalization, which brought us the Hotel Valencia (with Citrus and V-Bar), hipster hangouts Zen Bar and The Davenport and sandwich shop Sip, and the urban chic offices of advertising powerhouses Bromley & Associates and Guerra, DeBerry, Coody. Pockets of growth on the previously ignored fringes of the city center, as varied as the Camp Street Lofts, the Radius Building, the Pearl Brewery, Sunset Station and continued investment in the King William arts and food scene created a protective circle of development around downtown.

San Antonio is already an international culinary destination (a reputation in part cemented by recent accolades for Le Reve and the successful first year of education at the Center for Foods of the Americas) and the current surge in upscale, unique nightclubs like Suede, Cielo and Medusa make the city a hot attraction for young professionals. So it makes sense the next wave of construction will be focused on providing these visitors with a place to sleep after all that partying and good food. While the Grand Hyatt Convention Center hotel is getting a lot of buzz, both for its 1,000 hotel rooms and floors of condos, it’s the smaller properties that will bring true character to downtown.

Opening in early 2008 is the Vistana, a new14-story high-rise apartment building that will take up an entire city block along Santa Rosa, Houston and Commerce Streets. Unique among much of San Antonio’s recent loft development, in addition to public and resident parking and a first floor devoted to retail space, all 246 apartments will be rentals. With 50 different floor plans and a wide range of pricing, as well as freight elevators to facilitate moves, the Vistana is likely to attract students and young professionals just as easily as baby boomers looking for a flexible, affordable pied-a-terre.

“Downtown needs more housing, especially rental housing, and this development offers additional opportunities for people to enjoy downtown’s ambience, shopping and culture, 24/7,” notes Ben Brewer, president of Downtown Alliance. “The Alameda Theatre, the River Walk, the city center, major businesses and the downtown campus of UTSA are just a few blocks away. Public transportation, including downtown trolleys, will be at The Vistana’s doorstep. It also provides needed public parking for downtown workers, hospital visitors, shoppers and tourists.”

Another mixed-use development underway is the Rivera, formerly the Fishmarket Building, on St. Mary’s and Commerce. Once completed, the Rivera will offer six apartments, ranging in size from 1,000 to 2,800 square feet, on the upper two floors overlooking the river. The Riverwalk and street levels will offer over 9,000 square feet of commercial space.

According to Andreas Andujar, principal at Parsons overseeing the renovations, “Rivera is an adaptive reuse project, comprised of two adjoining buildings.  One structure dates to the 1800's and the other was constructed in the mid 1900's.  The buildings have had several previous uses: fish market restaurant, dentist office, bank, corporate offices.” The new design will include repairs and updates to the building exterior, including new windows and accessibility ramps, but much of the interior will be preserved, including the existing interior limestone walls, wood floors, and wood ceiling joists.  Also to be retained is a large brick cistern in the river level lease space.

Other major hotel properties soon to be added to the mix include the 370-room Drury Plaza at the Alamo National Bank building and a new Courtyard by Marriott in the historic St. Mary’s School. But it’s not just about heads in beds – downtown’s cultural capital is set to rise also.

The Hertzberg Circus building, a favorite of San Antonians young and old, will soon house the collection of the National Western Art Foundation. The city plans a portion of the museum to reflect San Antonio and South Texas’ vibrant cowboy and vaquero tradition, while event rental space and a proposed restaurant will add to the overall attractiveness to tourists. The Museo Alameda in Market Square is even closer to becoming a reality, with an opening scheduled for April, 2007. The project, which links the Alameda National Center for Latino Arts and Culture, the Casa de Mexico building, an association with the national Smithsonian organization and the Alameda Theater, will offer more than 15,000 square feet of exhibit space devoted to the Latino experience in America.

With improvements and investments like these and others reviewed in this publication this year, it’s no wonder downtown San Antonio is poised for a second coming of energy, focus and civic pride. In fifty years, the memoirs and newspaper columns will all be about the life and times of our “new” city center.