A ULI Advisory Services Panel was recently in San Antonio to tour the Hemisfair site and gain insight on the plans for it. The group paid particular attention to Hemisfair’s eastern zone, which includes a Tower Park site expected to help anchor the broader redevelopment. It has also interviewed dozens of local industry leaders in the public and private sectors.
The independent panel, which presented its findings and advice Friday at a meeting of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) of San Antonio, recommends retaining some of the historically significant structures, redeveloping others, and creating green spaces and pedestrian connectivity both within the park and with the surrounding neighborhoods.
“San Antonio is continuing to grow, and that means people, that means households, and that means Hemisfair has a capture opportunity to create a foundation for that great place,” said Alex Rose, senior vice president, Development Continental Development Corp., who chaired the national ULI panel.
One possibility for the easternmost section of Hemisfair — which is between Interstate 37, the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures and the back of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center — is vertical office development that could benefit from interstate access and exposure, Andujar said.
There is also an opportunity to drive redevelopment around more residential space, said Alex Rose, senior vice president of development for California-based Continental Development Corp., who chaired the ULI group assisting HPARC.
“The biggest takeaway from this should be that San Antonio is going to grow. There is going to be a demand for housing in this area, and it’s a good site for that,” Rose said. “There is a great opportunity with that development.”