Thursday, February 23, 2012

Expanding the Calendar: March

So many events have been popping up at the very beginning of March that I am compiling the March calendar half a week early.

Monday, March 1
6:00 Architecture on Tap, with District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal at the Friendly Spot

Saturday, March 3
7:00 Beaux Arts Ball, Cleary Zimmernamm Warehouse

Sunday, March 4
10:00 am Siclovia, Broadway, north of Downtown

Wednesday, March 7
5:30 Jonathan Bartlett Lecture at UTSA CoA

Friday - Sunday, March 9-11
David Thaddeus ARE Structures in Dallas

Saturday, March 10
7:00 Luminaria, HemisFair Park

Thursday, March 15
TBAE Changes go into effect
9:00 AM AIA Accessibility Guidelines

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Event Calendar through the rest of February

Wednesday, February 22
6:00 Marion Blackwell AIA Lecture - Center for Architecture

Thursday, February 23
12:00 AIA Associates Meeting - Center for Architecture
12:00 Building Enclosure Committee Meeting - Center for Architecture
(see some conflict here?)
6:00 Foundation for Architecture Pecha Kucha

Friday, February 24
12:00 LED Lighting Lunch and Learn - DJD Office

Monday, February 27
12:00 AIA Monthly Meeting - Luby's

Wednesday, February 29
5:30 Downtown Alliance Young Professionals Mixer - La Paloma Riverwalk, 215 Losoya Street
5:30 AIA Update on Healthcare - Center for Architecture

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Hemisfair and Downtown Development

The past week has been busy for the office...charrettes on Brooks Hangar 9, Lackland ISD projects, and interim reviews for Fort Sam Houston were on our plates, in addition to other project deadlines.  This morning, Carlos, Michelle, and I went to our monthly SMPS Talk Marketing meeting, where a very informative discussion on proposals was had, along with some serious bagel eating.

What I really wanted to get to here was the inaugural Architecture on Tap featuring Andres Andujar, the gentleman spearheading the master planning and redevelopment of Hemisfair Park.



A large part of the operation behind all of the action that has happened and is continuing to happen at San Antonio River North, Andres is passionate about re-invigorating the city's urban core with this commercial, civic, and residential endeavor.  A large part of the conversation was centered on who this $80 million dollar project would be for:  the tourist, or the San Antonian.  In multiple bits heard on the news and radio about the Hemisfair proposal, one of the selling points for Hemisfair has been the expansion of tourism spilling over from the Riverwalk across South Alamo and into the energized urban park.  However, Andujar repeatedly stressed that this new development would not be for the tourist, but for the people of San Antonio.  It is a gateway to downtown, a means to get those of us who live here back into the heart of the city for a while.  Active spaces will be the catalyst to get people to drive downtown for some time in the park.  This excites me, as a former resident of Houston's Inner Loop, as I think about the things that are happening at and around Discovery Green and Herman Park.  Although tourism is a large part of the city, and will most definately remain as such (our city is a wonderful place to come and visit, and the Riverwalk is a magical linear park), Hemisfair is an opportunity to claim an urban identity for residents and to reinvigorate the parts of the city around it (and not just Southtown, which has been experiencing its own renaissance, but further South and West, as well as East across I-37).

Hemisfair would also be a catalyst for the return to urban living.  Downtown San Antonio has been receiving a great deal of attention with the construction of new residential spaces that has been slowly growing over the last decade.  Residents have become increasingly interested in an urban lifestyle, and the city has been responding to this.  Hemisfair would provide for the increase of residences downtown, bumping up the ratio of residences to hotel rooms from 4,000 to 14,000 to something like 10,000 residential units to 14,000 hotel rooms.  Our conversation really got going with this idea of residential movement back into the city.  The majority of people (20- and 30-somethings, for an idea of our age demographic) at Architecture on Tap did not just work downtown, but also lived there, and were interested in how to get more people to live downtown as well.  The Hemisfair redevelopment would include apartments at multiple price points, from subsidized housing to market price.  Residences available will be rentals only; no apartments will be available for purchase, as the city will own and operate Hemisfair as a public entity (no private ownership of residential or commercial lots).

Andujar did discuss the politics behind the Hemisfair proposal, including funding, TIRZ (tax increment reinvestment zones), the 2012 Bond program, and opposition to the potential streetcar that would service Hemisfair and surrounding areas.  His work on River North was also a topic of conversation, which is arguably the starting point for the entirety of the current revitalization around downtown San Antonio.

Andujar formally presented the Hemisfair master plan to City Council the day following our Architecture on Tap, and the project will continue in preparation for receiving funding for the 2012 Bond election (this is not the only source of funding, as there are public and private entities at work to bring the project into fruition, although voter approved funding is a large part of getting the project started and providing ownership for the city and its residents).  His welcome participation for Architecture on Tap led to an insightful and engaging discussion, and I look forward to the development of the Hemisfair area, and especially what the city will look like 10 years from now.

In other downtown news, Downtown Alliance's developing Young Professionals group is working to get the word out about Downtown activities, which a few of the AIA associates at our firm have been involved with.

Happy Valentine's Day!