San Antonio Development News

[hannah_banana]

Originally Posted by LSyd

ewww...can't they leave it as it is? i'm glad it's not being destroyed, but the changes don't look right from the renders.

-

I think it was rejected because the HDRC did not think the styles complimented each other well, so we might see other renderings later.


The YMCA summit: working out a long-term plan


Mayor says the city must do better on education

Eilan Hotel is going up.

[hannah_banana]

3 firms coming to InCube in S.A.

Companies aiming to produce three cutting-edge biotechnology devices — implants detecting heart failure and another detecting and preventing epileptic seizures, plus a skin patch for women with iron deficiencies — will be the first three moving to San Antonio's biotech business incubator, Gov. Rick Perry and InCube Laboratories Inc. Chairman Mir Imran announced Tuesday.

The trio of early-stage companies from San Jose, Calif., will begin operations in InCube's incubator, called the San Antonio Innovation Center, opening in November.

Noticeably absent from the event was Mayor Julián Castro. Imran said Castro was leading a San Antonio delegation to San Diego to recruit yet another, still unidentified, California biotechnology company to come to San Antonio.

A&M-San Antonio celebrates its first chief

Construction began on the campus' first multipurpose building in May, and a topping out ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 5. The building is expected to be finished by August.

In just a few years, regents for the Texas A&M University System expect the San Antonio campus to be the second-largest in the 11-university system.

NuStar to begin construction on new corporate campus

NuStar Energy LP will officially break ground on its new $100 million corporate campus in North San Antonio this week.

The company bought the 32-acre tract of land for the campus back in February from Atlanta-based Thomas Enterprises Inc. NuStar is investing in a 300,000-square-foot building to house its executive offices and administrative operations.

[hannah_banana]

Plans for Little Italy in San Antonio

It would be built in the heart of San Antonio's Italian community near Martin and San Saba Streets downtown. San Francesco di Paola Church and The Christopher Columbus Italian Society meeting hall would be at the center of the project. Members of the society say they would like to use the land behind Columbus Hall for a building that has Italian-style architecture, apartments and shops. Frank Monaco is the man behind the project. He showed News 4 WOAI an artist's rendering of Little Italy.

S.A. wooing West Coast companies

San Antonio officials just back from a recruiting trip confirmed that the city is in the running to land at least one San Diego-based company by the end of the year. San Antonio also is expected to see three or four more corporate expansions before 2011.

And about the infamous The Rim bankruptcy

The Rim, lender reach agreement

The Rim shopping center companies and lender Starwood Capital Group have worked out an agreement that allows the bankrupt companies to continue to use rents to operate.

The companies filed for bankruptcy in November to stop a foreclosure on a portion of the buildings land at the center.

[hannah_banana]

Long-stalled Broadway project moves forward

The long-stalled and highly visible 1221 Broadway project received a $23.4 million loan this week, giving a shot in the arm to downtown and the city's efforts to draw more rental housing and mixed-use development to the area.

Workers put up safety railings Friday, and construction work could start as early as Sunday, the developer said. They hope to have the first residents in apartments in April, with the entire project finishing in a year.

Former Le Rêve space envisioned as another fine dining restaurant

Weissman once operated the nationally-acclaimed French restaurant Le Rêve and the less-pricey Sandbar Fish House & Market out of the building at 152 E. Pecan St. Last year in October, Weissman closed Le Rêve and moved the Sandbar to The Pearl, while opening Italian eatery Il Sogno there, as well.

Now, Michael Sohocki, one of Weissman's chefs at Il Sogno, has leased the former Le Rêve location and hopes to open a fine dining restaurant there by spring 2011. Sohocki said he'd rather wait a while before releasing the name of the restaurant.

[hannah_banana]

C.H. Guenther & Sons HQ's awaiting approval
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr


Luxury Restaurant in River North awaiting approval
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr


Articles are a few months old, but still good information.

Breaks Ground on 536 Acre Motion Picture Sound Studio and Entertainment Complex

“Over the next five years SAF Studios will become a massive complex of moviemaking facilities, support facilities and retail sites with a hotel complex. The price tag could go up to $300 million,” Ortiz said.

SAF Studios catches eye of directors and producers

Al Frakes, SAF' s President and CEO, along with Lennie Turpin, SAF' s chief financial officer, are working hard to ensure the studio transforms into a highly visited tourist attraction, similar to that of Universal Studios in California.

This major addition to the city will house facilities that would be necessary for filming major films. On site they will feature nine sound stages ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet, seven lakes, and two large hotels. With features like these, SAF Studios can film a wider range of major motion pictures that may require special sets with a western or New York theme.

[hannah_banana]

From tgannaway

http://destinoliving.com/home.html


Destino Video

Parking garage, office space, and retail


Outside court at dowtown UTSA campus


1st phase of Verano with 140 lofts over retail


Medical office park at Stone Oak


Retail at Broadway


Restaurant at Market Street and Presa

[hannah_banana]

Little Italy rendering on the bottom


Group envisions 'Little Italy' in downtown S.A.

But this year, the cultural organization unveiled plans for a “Little Italy” concept it hopes will bring together the city's Italian-American community and serve as a focal point for tourists and shoppers.

“The idea is to bring the community back downtown,” said Italian Society secretary Frank Monaco, who spearheaded plans for the Little Italy concept.

The plans call for developing land behind Columbus Hall to create a small, mixed-used development, reminiscent of a town in the Calabria region of Southern Italy, which once was home to many of the Italian immigrant families who moved to San Antonio.

Culinary building adds to the Pearl's sense of community

The new CIA Building at the Pearl Brewery brings the culinary campus to 30,000 square feet, allowing both the professional education and foodie outreach programs to grow.

The five-story, 213,796-square-foot building includes restaurant, retail, office space and a 400-car parking garage. Eight apartments, including two penthouses, on the upper floors of the building will bring more near-downtown housing to the Pearl Brewery.

Christus to develop new urban hospital

Christus Santa Rosa Health System plans to spend roughly $25 million to expand an existing building along U.S. Highway 281 south of Loop 410 into a new surgical specialty hospital.

Officials with the nonprofit Christus believe the new hospital represents a major step in the creation of a medical campus for the Alamo Heights area.

Castro goes to Washington with an eye on transit, roads

Administration officials clearly see transportation projects as the shortest path to creating the kind of jobs that would blast the economy out of its current lethargy. On Sunday, they said they planned to ask Congress for a front-loaded $50 billion investment in the nation’s infrastructure.

That bodes well for San Antonio, which has been pushing for federal help on transportation already, including bus rapid transit, a modern streetcar system for downtown, and maybe even light rail.

On the transit side, they could include a high-speed rail line to Austin and any of the projects San Antonio’s already been looking for help on.

But if shovel-ready is still one of the criteria, the fun political play for Castro might be to look for federal assistance in finally doing something about congestion on U.S. 281 and Loop 1604 — easily the most talked-about local traffic problem. With enough federal help, maybe it’s possible to find a fix that doesn’t involve toll roads.

[hannah_banana]

Pearl Hotel - retail/restaurant in a 7-story tower at the Pearl Brewery


Proposed Pearl site




River North Exhbit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHiRQgSUX8

[TampaMike]

What's the latest on the light rail initiatives in San An?

[hannah_banana]

First contracts awarded for a new Wilford Hall

With plans to eventually demolish Wilford Hall Medical Center, the Air Force has appropriated $65.8 million to start construction on the first phase of a new medical facility at Lackland AFB.

The new Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center will expand outpatient surgical and clinical services in a 681,000-square-foot building that will be next to the current hospital's location. Construction on a 1,000-space parking structure will start in early 2011, and later next year work will begin on a primary-care center and an energy plant.

But will they suggest a nude beach for HemisFair this time?

team will be led by the Los Angeles-based Johnson Fain , and will include San Antonio's Poteet Architects, Pape-Dawson Engineers, William Dupont of the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Olin Studio of Philadelphia, among others.

All about Linda Pace mueseum
Linda Pace Foundation picks director-curator

Plans for a museum to house the Pace Foundation's collection of more than 500 contemporary art works have been on the drawing board for a few years.

Details on Pace Museum Trickle Out

Some are anticipating that the museum, when completed, will be as important as the Menil in Houston (we’ll see…). Adjaye has already created a model for the museum which was sort of viewable through the glass of a locked office door in the Linda Pace Foundation offices during an event last night. I just caught a quick glimpse, but the model seemed less boxy than some of Adjaye’s more well-known projects, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver (above).

In the red

Famed British architect David Adjaye’s preliminary design for the collection of the late San Antonio art patron Linda Pace features cantilevered skylights above four spacious galleries. Designated for Camp Street in a spot currently occupied by an old warehouse, the building will be clad in red, the signature color for Pace, who once dreamed of an idyllic “ruby city” and named the book about her creation of Artpace’s internationally respected artist-residency program Dreaming Red.

David Adjaye

[hannah_banana]

Originally Posted by TampaMike

What's the latest on the light rail initiatives in San An?

I think they are trying to make it open to the public for vote in Nov. and that VIA is still in the planning process of it(I think).

Recently the mayor went to D.C. to try to get funding for transportation projects. Plans for the streetcar system are definitely closer to reality imo.

[hannah_banana]

Originally Posted by max7

Here's a sneak peek at the new and improved Briscoe Museum on Market Street:

Located on the banks of the beautiful San Antonio River Walk, the Dolph and Janey Briscoe Western Art Museum will reside in a historic location. It is less than a ten minute stroll from the Alamo. The Main entrance and ‘’anchor’’ building was built in 1929 and was the original Main Library of San Antonio as part of the Carnegie Library System during that era. All three floors of this historic building will have galleries of art and artifacts.

Rear View:

Visitors will cross over an enclosed bridge to the newly constructed galleries and Pavilion. The newly constructed venue will complement the original main building. Building design of the facility is in the hands of the prestigious, award winning firm of Lake/Flato Architects. The top two floors of the new venue will be gallery space. The first floor Pavilion will be available for rent year around for meetings, conferences, private lunches and dinners, receptions, etc. It will have seating for 340 table guests overlooking the San Antonio River and The Museum’s Sculpture Garden. Museum visitors and Pavilion guests can easily enter both venues from the Market Street entrance or directly from the River Walk.

The Museum gratefully acknowledges the Bexar County Venue Programs Office for its generous contribution of four million dollars from the bond issue passed by voters last May. This contribution will be used for the construction and completion of the Briscoe Western Art Museum.

Front View:

BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUM
210 W. Market Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205

Municipal Auditorium makeover concept approved

Preliminary designs for modernizing Municipal Auditorium into a dazzling performance center were approved Wednesday by the Historic and Design Review Commission, with the caveat that more tinkering should be done to the proposed exterior look.

The commission's unanimous vote came amid lingering concerns about the visual impact of a veil-like covering that would shroud a large addition to the 1926 landmark. Some commission members contended the covering would detract from the building's historic character.

Backed by $100 million in Bexar County venue tax proceeds and more than $32 million in private funds, the plan calls for the auditorium to be called the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, reopening in 2013 The approved vision keeps the well-known façade and sides of the auditorium. Within the remaining U-shaped shell, a high-rising theater with 1,750 seats and world-class acoustics, and a 230-seat rehearsal theater would be built. The performance center also would gain new technology, a contemporary Riverwalk portal and other upgrades.

[ardamir]

I dont know if I like the new design for the auditorium.

Hannah, do you know where I can get information about the neighborhood that was removed to make space for the Hemisfair?

[diablo234]

Yeah that new design for the auditorium is a little too funky, especially with the contrasting Spanish Colonial architecture.

Originally Posted by ardamir

Hannah, do you know where I can get information about the neighborhood that was removed to make space for the Hemisfair?

I think I might have found something.
http://www.sanantonio.gov/historic/D...HemisFair.aspx

[FastFerrari]

I have a couple of quick questions if anyone can answer them

1. When will class start for the A&M site? And how small or massive will the site be in the next 5-10yrs?
2. Can someone tell me the location of the Elian Hotel

[hannah_banana]

Originally Posted by ardamir

I dont know if I like the new design for the auditorium.

Hannah, do you know where I can get information about the neighborhood that was removed to make space for the Hemisfair?

Sorry to have delayed your question for I've been pretty busy and have only had time to check in on here once in awhile. I hope diablo234 answered your question, but I also found this PDF on pre-Hemisfair land. Site History

Originally Posted by FastFerrari

I have a couple of quick questions if anyone can answer them

1. When will class start for the A&M site? And how small or massive will the site be in the next 5-10yrs?
2. Can someone tell me the location of the Elian Hotel

Texas A&M University already has students enrolled. It's expected to be finished in just a few years, but I'd guess that, if their vision is accurate, it will be pretty built out in 4 or 5 years if everything goes as planned.
http://www.tamusa.tamus.edu/

Eilan Hotel is located in the Eilan complex on the far northwest side, on La Cantera Parkway, across 1604 from the Rim.
http://www.eilan.com/location.html




I assume this is a major reason as to why renovation on North Star Mall hasn't been in progress and that activity could begin in the near future.
North Star's parent to emerge from bankruptcy

image hosted on flickr

http://www.bokapowell.com/#/retail/3/



Planners envision a little Paris in Midtown-Brackenridge plan

According to Polikov, one of the goals in the master plan, is to create a pedestrian-friendly environment with reverse angle parking, bike paths, bistros and quaint shops. The city of San Antonio is working with the San Antonio River Authority on the master plan, which sees an enhanced lower Broadway as key toward redevelopment efforts in the Midtown/Brackenridge Park area north of downtown.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by hannah_banana

From tgannaway

http://destinoliving.com/home.html


Destino Video

Parking garage, office space, and retail


Outside court at dowtown UTSA campus


1st phase of Verano with 140 lofts over retail


Medical office park at Stone Oak


Retail at Broadway


Restaurant at Market Street and Presa

these developments are really nice. i love the concepts!!!

[hannah_banana]

^ The last two should give those areas some good activity. By the way, for those who don't know and those wondering about Texas A&M on the southside, the Verano nieghborhood in my post that rockin'.baltimorean quoted is the neighborhood incorporated into the campus.

Northside Swim Center design unveiled

Center, effectively giving the green light on a project that will make NISD a nationally-renowned destination for swimming competitions and provide desperately needed ‘water space' for Northside athletes.

Construction of the Northside Swim Center - a 50-meter, Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool and 25-meter diving pool - is expected to begin at the Farris Athletic Complex by May 2011 and be completed by the summer of 2013, said Vernon Dunagin, Assistant Superintendent for Facilities & Operations.

The outdoor swim center will feature shaded seating for 2,400 spectators as well as high-tech timing, lighting, sound and video scoreboard systems. Locker room facilities will accommodate as many as 1,200 athletes.

Embassy Suites Hotels opens downtown location

Embassy Suites San Antonio Riverwalk — Downtown, the third Embassy Suites in San Antonio, has one- and two-bedroom suites. Its panoramic, multistory lobby has direct views of the River Walk. The 285-suite property has nearly 12,000 square feet worth of meeting space that can accommodate 900 people.

The hotel also will incorporate a new restaurant, Lüke, featuring French and German cuisine. The restaurant, which will open next week, will be Chef John Besh's first venture outside of the New Orleans area.

[hannah_banana]

By the way, today was Texas A&M's topping out ceremony of new campus grounds.
http://www.tamusa.tamus.edu/universi...oppingout.html

So there is definitely some work being done there.

[hannah_banana]

from SSP

Originally Posted by miaht82

Tobin Hill residents laud renewal efforts
By Edmond Ortiz - Editor/North Central News

Here is more info from the ACC website.

from one of the PDF's

Thats alot of space for someone to work with, especially since they will be allowed to go up.

Edit:

In other DT news, besides the opening of Lüke on Monday, we also have a Bar & Grill opening soon on Houston near Alamo Plaza, a possible BBQ place on Broadway where Tongs Thai was supposed to be, and Taco Garage opening where the IHOP Cafe was at the Vistana; Subway is opened on Santa Rosa side at the Vistana. Thats a good local and non-chain mix (except Subway of course) for Houston St. to counter some of the Riverwalk action; could be reason enough for people to venture up.

Some info I got on Eilan

Wereldhave NV Announces 3rd Quarter Results

The two offices of the Eilan development project in San Antonio in the

United States were completed during the third quarter and have been

transferred to the investment portfolio. In spite of interest from

several prospective tenants, no lettings can yet be reported. The

construction of the remainder of the first phase, approx. 500

apartments, a hotel and several commercial facilities, is proceeding

according to schedule. Completion is due as from the last quarter of

2011.