F O C U S D O W N T O W N
News, Issues & Events from Center City Development & Operations Department
April 2014
In This Issue
Message from the Director
Housing Project of the Month
Travis Park Reopens
Downtown's Best Awards
Amazing Race
Contact Us
New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower

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Mark Your Calendar

 

Every Tuesday
5 pm - 2 am
Downtown Tuesday
City-operated parking garages, lots, and meters are FREE

An Evening in Travis Park

Tuesday, April 29, 5-7 p.m.

Featuring an evening of live entertainment and food trucks in Travis Park For details, call (210)207-3677. 

 

Movies by Moonlight

Every Tuesday in June & July

at Travis Park.

Click HERE for more information or call (210) 207-7819.

 

For more events visit:  
www.visitantonio.com 
New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower  
The Awesome Foundation and Travis Park team up to make SA awesome!
  
The Awesome Foundation forwards the interest of awesome $1,000 at a time. The month of April is dedicated to Travis Park and Awesome Foundation is asking all applicants to come up with ideas or projects that would make it more awesome.
  

The submission period for these awesome applications will be April 1st through April 30th at 5 p.m. The application is no more than 10 simple questions. Keep SA awesome!

 

       
  

Please email [email protected] with any questions. Keep SA awesome!

New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower  

 

Downtown Tuesday taking a

 Fiesta Siesta

by Veronica Garcia, Center City Development & Operations Department

 

Downtown Tuesday is taking a Fiesta Siesta!  During Fiesta, regular parking rates at City-operated facilities will be in effect on Tuesday, April 22nd and free parking will not be offered.  The Downtown Tuesday initiative, which provides free parking at City-operated lots, meters and garages from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. will resume on Tuesday, April 29th.

 

Special event and parade attendees are advised that street closures may impact the availability of metered parking in some areas.  While at Fiesta, be sure to think "green" by recycling, making healthier food choices, and by enjoying parades designated as smoke-free.

 

Downtown Tuesday offers locals and visitors great incentives, such as free parking and discounts, when they visit downtown restaurants, bars, museums and other attractions. For more information, visit www.downtowntuesday.com and like Downtown Tuesday on Facebook. 

New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower  

 

Visit the New TRAVIS PARK! 

 

The new Travis Park now offers:

Reading and Games Kiosk (M-F, 10am-2pm)

Food Trucks (M-F, 11pm-2pm)

Modern Furnishings

B-cycle Station

Game Stations

Movies in the Park 

Live Music

Fitness in the Park

 

Like TRAVIS PARK on Facebook to see upcoming events and click here for yearlong schedule of events.

New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower  

 

Infill Development Workshop

Fri., June 6, 2014, 8:00 am-11:30 am

The Witte Museum- 3801 Broadway

$35- Cost includes breakfast and materials

  

Join us for this informational & comprehensive workshop that will focus on infill development in the center city and the role that various key City of San Antonio departments and partners play in the process. Hosted by the City's Center City Development Office, Urban Land Institute- San Antonio and Centro San Antonio, this will be a "must-attend" half-day workshop for developers, design professionals and real estate attorneys interested in developing and facilitating development in the center city.

 

Register HERE by June 3rd.

For more information please call (210)207-4089 or email [email protected].
New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower  

 

5 after 5 Parking Program

by Jonathan Featherston, Center City Development and Operations Department

 

The much-anticipated 5 after 5 parking program will kick off on May 1st to offer $5 parking at the St. Mary's Garage and the Dolorosa parking lot from 5 pm-5 am on weeknights. All rates subject to change.

 

Additionally, the parking program offers a $5 daily parking rate each Saturday and Sunday at the St. Mary's Garage and the Dolorosa parking lot. This $5 daily rate begins after 5 pm on Friday and is good for 24 hours from the time a patron enters the lot or garage.  Every 24 hours an additional $5 will be charged as long as it is during the select time frame. Some exclusions may apply.

 

The 5 after 5 parking program is designed to provide a lower parking rate option to locals and tourists coming to enjoy all that downtown has to offer.  Additionally, this provides local businesses more options to assist with their success. For more information, call (210)207-8267. 

 

New Year's fireworks at HemisFair Tower  

 

Walk and Roll Rally

 by Allie Blazosky, Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

 

Join us at the 18th annual Walk and Roll Rally on May 2nd at 8am on Main Plaza.  There are organized walk or bike rides scheduled that end at the rally point where you can enjoy refreshments, door prizes, music and a flash fashion show featuring local bicycling and walking street styles.

 

The event is hosted by the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, City of San Antonio and Bexar County and celebrates walking and bicycling as desirable forms of transportation, exercise and recreation.  VIA Metropolitan Transit is again providing free bus transportation for cyclists with bikes on the day of the Walk & Roll Rally to make taking alternative transportation to work even easier.

 

The Walk & Roll Rally kicks off a full calendar of events in May, recognized since 1956 as National Bike Month, that offers opportunities for everyone in the Alamo Area to learn more about or share their love of walking and bicycling.  To keep track of all local bicycling and walking events going on during May, visit www.walkandrollSA.com or contact the MPO's Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Planner, Allie Blazosky, at [email protected] or 210-230-6911. 


Out & About Downtown

Lori Houston, Director, Center City Development & Operations Department 

 

Spring has arrived, and the warmer weather invites us all to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. In this April issue, you will find many ways to fill your calendar with great outdoor activities to enjoy in our downtown San Antonio.

 

This edition of the newsletter also includes information on the successful Grand Reopening of Travis Park last month. The event was filled with festivities including yoga, live music, games, and historical tours throughout the day. We invite the community to continue celebrating the new Travis Park with free yearlong activities and programming. For the complete schedule, please click here.

 

With this great weather upon us, you will not want to miss a family-friendly evening of live music and food trucks downtown. Our department will host an Evening in Travis Park on Tuesday, April 29th from 5-8 PM for all to enjoy.

 

This month's issue also includes information on the "5 after 5" parking program for select downtown parking facilities. This new rate is designed to provide a lower parking rate to residents and visitors coming to enjoy all that downtown has to offer. If you are interested in more information, please call (210) 207-8267. 

 

Looking ahead, we are also excited about National Historic Preservation Month in May, when communities across the country celebrate historic preservation and promote community awareness. Be sure to read about how you can participate with fun and educational downtown activities.

 

April is the month when we celebrate Fiesta festivities all over San Antonio. We encourage Fiesta-goers to enjoy a Green. Fit. Friendly Fiesta by recycling, making healthy food choices, and enjoying smoke free parades and events. For more information about the various Fiesta events, please visit www.fiesta-sa.org.  

 

With so much to offer, downtown San Antonio is the ultimate place for both locals and visitors to enjoy unique entertainment, family-friendly activities, and beautiful parks. If you have any questions or feedback, I encourage you to contact our office.  Until then, I look forward to seeing you downtown!

 

We're located at 100 W. Houston St, Suite 1900, San Antonio, TX 78283. Contact us at (210) 207-3914 or via email at [email protected] for questions or assistance related to downtown San Antonio. 

 

Cherry Modern

By Paul Jimenez, Center City Development & Operations Department

 

The near Eastside of San Antonio is experiencing an exciting revitalization as residents are seeking to live closer to downtown and want the option to purchase a new home in this up and coming neighborhood. New to the near Eastside area is the Cherry Street Modern project located at 710 N. Cherry and 504 Burnett, a $2 million town house development that includes 12 housing units for sale. The project is located in City Council District 2, a few steps from the site of the  Alamo Brewery, and a few blocks from the Pearl Brewery Complex. The project features a unique modern design, and two different floor plans ranging from 1130 sq/ft to 1273 sq/ft. This project received $146,330 in incentives from CCDO's Center City Housing Incentive Program (CCHIP) as well as Inner City Reinvestment Infill Policy (ICRIP) fee waivers. The Cherry Street Modern project brings us closer to achieving the SA2020 goal of 7,500 new housing units in our Center City and provides a great option for urban dwellers looking to buy their own home. An official grand opening ceremony with the Mayor will be scheduled for October 2014.

 

For project information, please contact Charlie Turner, CEO, Terramark Urban Homes at 713-858-3983 or [email protected]. Homes in the development are pre-selling now, and interested parties should contact Lorie Campos with Keller Williams Realty at 210-867-8252 or [email protected].  For more information on the Cherry Street Modern project please visit www.CherryStreetModern.com, and for more information on the Center City Housing Incentive Program, visit sanantonio.gov/CCDO.

 

  

Travis Park Reopens to Public

By Veronica Gonzalez, Center City Development & Operations Department

 

Spring is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and visit the new Travis Park! March 31st brought out the community to Travis Park for the much-anticipated reopening. The day was filled with free events including zumba, yoga, live entertainment, food trucks, history tours and more. These activities were in addition to the freshly planted flowers, colorful furnishings, over-sized chess set, brightly painted kiosk, and authentic 1863 cannon that now occupy the park's 2.6 acres of green space. The reopening festivities concluded with Twilight on the Plaza, a special ticketed dinner that served to benefit future park maintenance and programming.

 

Activities are already planned for the upcoming months, including food truck lunches, UTSA Art Installation, Painting with a Twist, Fitness in the Park, Urban Pet Market, and Movies by Moonlight. The most up-to-date calendar is available at www.sanantonio.gov/ccdo and the park's Facebook page provides the latest updates and images.

 

Looking ahead, Travis Park is excited to collaborate with Awesome SA, who has put out a call for awesome ideas to further activate the park through a $1,000 grant. If you have an awesome idea geared towards Travis Park, please submit your application at The Awesome Foundation between April 1- 30 by 5 p.m.

 

Whether you want movies, picnics, live music, or games, Travis Park has it all.  Come and see the new Travis Park!  If you have any questions or feedback, please call (210)207-7819 or email [email protected].

  

 

Downtown's Best Awards

by Melissa Burnett, Centro San Antonio

 

 

It was a packed house on Friday, March 28th as over 350 people attended the 14th Annual Downtown's BEST Awards presented by Centro San Antonio and this year's title sponsor, San Antonio Museum of Art. Over 70 nominations were considered by a nine-member Awards Jury Panel and thirteen winners were announced at the annual luncheon event at the Wyndham San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel. In addition to those thirteen category-award winners, the 2014 Downtowner of the Year was awarded to Lori Houston, Director of the Center City Development & Operations Department.

 

"As an advocate of the Mayor's Decade of Downtown, Lori has energized development momentum in the center city," said Pat DiGiovanni, Centro San Antonio's President and CEO. "She recognizes the key role city government plays as a development partner, and she symbolizes the creative thinking and energy we want from the next generation of city leaders. We are honored to celebrate her as our 2014 Downtowner of the Year."

 

Centro also honored the River Walk Capital Improvements for Best Development/Construction Project and the late Bill Sinkin with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for his longstanding and unwavering support of downtown San Antonio.

 

The event kicked off with the crowning of downtown's first ever "King  & Queen of Downtown." King Snow Montemayor and Queen Rose Taylor will represent downtown San Antonio not only during Fiesta, but throughout the year as well.

 

BEST Winners in the 13 categories include:

 

BEST Adaptive Use: Briscoe Western Art Museum

BEST Arts & Culture Program: PechaKucha San Antonio

BEST Business Space: Argo Group U.S. Headquarters

BEST Development/Construction Project: River Walk Capital Improvements

BEST Event: San Antonio Book Festival

BEST of Greater Downtown: Hughes Warehouse

BEST Marketing Campaign: City of Yellow Roses

BEST Neighborhood: King William

BEST Public/Private Partnership: Argo Group U.S. Headquarters

BEST Residential: 1800 Broadway Urban Residences

BEST Collaborative for Downtown Growth (Wild Card): 2013 San Antonio Cocktail Conference

BEST Downtown Social Movement (Wild Card): Awesome SA

BEST Work in Progress: The Rand Building

OHP Amazing Race

by Nicholas Fuquoa, Office of Historic Preservation

The City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation is pleased to announce its participation in National Historic Preservation Month in May 2014.  The Office of Historic Preservation will promote community awareness of preservation issues by providing a range of activities for adults, children, and teenagers, designed to be both fun and educational.

 

This year we will once again bring back the popular Amazing Preservation Race for adults, which has been a smash hit for the last three years. This event has it all!  A combination of a downtown architectural scavenger hunt, physical activities and an after-party. The race will be $25 per person, for teams of four ($100 per team).

 

The popular Amazing Preservation Race for Kids will also be back this year and will take place in the Monte Vista Historic District for the first time! Proceeds from the adult race will help keep our kid's race free of charge, and will also go towards funding the continuing education and outreach programs of the Office of Historic Preservation.

 

In addition to these exciting events, we will also host a kick-off event, a networking event, a Preservation SA workday, and one of our popular Go! Historic SA Guided Tours. For more details go to www.sanantonio.gov/historic/Events for a complete calendar of events.

City of San Antonio - Center City Development
& Operations Department

 Need assistance?  Have a suggestion for the newsletter?  Contact us with comments or questions at [email protected]

                     100 W. Houston, Suite 1900, San Antonio, TX 78283                            

  Phone:   210-207-3914