Council Approves New Infrastructure Plan for Downtown San Antonio

Council Approves New Infrastructure Plan for Downtown San Antonio

San Antonio City Council has thrown its full support behind the development of a new strategic framework plan for the city’s downtown area. The plan will address a range of topics, from housing to public safety, and will be developed through a collaboration with Centro San Antonio and Visit San Antonio, local agencies responsible for promoting the city’s center to residents and tourists alike.

A New Strategy for the Post-Pandemic World

The decision to overhaul the strategic framework plan comes out of the necessity to adapt to the post-COVID era. The pandemic has had a lingering impact on the economy, making it vital to update existing infrastructure and development plans. The City Council believes this is the perfect moment to draft a fresh, innovative strategy that tackles the emerging challenges and harnesses the new opportunities in a rapidly changing world.

Funding the Development Plan

The development of this new plan is estimated to cost over USD 500,000. Centro San Antonio and Visit San Antonio have each contributed $255,000 for the undertaking, hiring HR&A, an urban development consulting firm, to carry out the project. The City of San Antonio has committed $45,000, with these funds specifically allocated to a housing study integral to the plan.

Downtown Housing Concerns

The housing element of the new plan is a topic of vast significance. Addressing this issue, Assistant City Manager Lori Houston stated: “How do we make sure that we keep housing in balance? How do we make sure that we protect the affordable housing in downtown and allow affordable housing to continue to grow, but also market rate, because it’s a demand-and-supply issue?”

The original plan, developed in 2012, pursued a housing-first strategy, resulting in 9,000 residential units added to downtown, alongside various public-private partnerships like Hemisfair, the Zona Cultural, and the San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

Downtown is Everybody’s Downtown

Despite the new strategic plan’s focus on downtown, council members from other districts supported the initiative, recognizing its city-wide impact. Trish DeBerry, CEO of Centro San Antonio, argued that continuous contribution to downtown’s development is vital as “downtown is everybody’s downtown.”

The new strategic plan will be built upon an economic impact study for downtown and a housing study exploring demand, supply, and development costs. Intended to align with the Transit-Oriented Development Plan and the Downtown Regional Center Plan – part of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan – the process is set to start this month, with the final report expected by November.

Support Across the City Council

Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, whose district encompasses downtown San Antonio, welcomed the effort to develop the plan, emphasizing that every decade can be the decade of downtown. Mayor Ron Nirenberg further championed the effort, stipulating how the plan forms a significant part of the city’s targeted growth strategy.

Overall, the decision marked an essential step in enhancing San Antonio’s urban core and supporting the city’s sustainable future growth.