San Antonio Report and Texas Public Radio partnered to host The Future of Downtown panel and discussion. This event marks the beginning of this year’s CityFest, a four-day celebration of live journalism running from Monday, Oct. 28, through Thursday, Oct. 31. The panel addressed the future of downtown San Antonio, exploring its potential boons and challenges.
Panelists were Erik Walsh, Andres Andujar, Trish DeBerry, Veronica Salazar and David Robinson Jr. engaged in a discussion facilitated by SA Report founder Bob Rivard at the Carlos and Malu Alvarez Theatre at Texas Public Radio.
Walsh has served as San Antonio’s city manager since 2019. He is currently managing the city’s response to priorities surrounding the establishment of new sports entertainment districts.
Robinson is the development manager at Western Urban, focusing on multi-family development across the company’s portfolio.
Salazar holds the position of Executive Vice President for Business Affairs and Chief Enterprise Development Officer at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is leading the university’s campus master plan and the expansion of its downtown campus.
Andujar became the CEO of the Hemisphere Park area redevelopment corporation in 2011 and is driving the vision to transform the 1968 World’s Fair site on the southeast side of downtown into an urban district featuring multiple parks, residences and local businesses.
Trish DeBerry is the president and CEO of Centro San Antonio, a placemaking organization dedicated to fostering a more prosperous downtown. With 25 years of experience, she has been an advocate for San Antonio’s urban core, leading various campaigns and initiatives.
DeBerry began the conversation by expressing her enthusiasm for downtown, reflecting on her long career and the challenges San Antonio has faced.
“Let me just tell you, it’s hard for me to hide my passion for San Antonio, being born and raised here. As someone who worked downtown for the better part of 25 years, I like to say that I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly associated with downtown.”
Salazar then shifted the discussion to UTSA’s strategic growth and significant property acquisitions in downtown.“So we started with the development of San Pedro and San Pedro Creek, and partnered there to create a cornerstone of development around City Hall, around Bexar County, to bring what the tech corridor needed the most.” Salazar said.
“It’s the educational research component with data scientists, cybersecurity, and now computer engineering. We started with one building that we said, we’re going to bring the school of data sciences, and we did that and it’s right there next door.”
Salazar emphasized the university’s plans for San Pedro Two, which has the potential to bring 6,000 students by 2028, with a future goal of 10,000 students.
“We started with one building that we said, we’re going to bring the school of data sciences, and we did that, and it’s right there next door. We’re creating a new College of AI, cybersecurity, and engineering, so all of that combined can bring up to 6,000 students to downtown, and we hope to achieve that by 2028, with a goal of 10,000 students.
We’re part of an ecosystem of the city, and we want to bring the economic development that the city and all of our citizens deserve. That comes with the work that the university does, creating talent that wants to stay here, live here, grow their families here, and attract the companies we want for the future of San Antonio.”
Andujar provided an update on Hemisfair’s redevelopment, highlighting significant public investment and progress made.
“That investment just reminds me how I’m very optimistic about downtown and Hemisphere Park.I follow the enthusiasm that we’ve heard. It feels real. But as usual, you know how architects learn in school that form follows function. We have learned that form follows funding.”
Andujar discussed the ongoing development of Civic Park and its role in attracting visitors and large events, emphasizing the need for continued investment and collaboration to realize Hemisfair’s full potential. “We’ve learned how public spaces can create excitement, and you’re going to see that in your area.”
Robinson noted the importance of residential-driven initiatives in creating a sustainable urban community.
“So I went back to school and studied urban planning, and to be studying urban planning at a university that’s in the midst of this amazing urban project is extremely exciting. The Pearl, South Town and Hemisphere are all about creating spaces for residents and locals.”
He highlighted the way projects like the Pearl, Riverwalk and Hemisphere are attracting younger professionals and fostering a sense of community, explaining how transit change could further enhance downtown development.
“One other project that didn’t get mentioned is advanced rapid transit, which is extremely exciting. When people talk about downtown, and even housing downtown, it shouldn’t be limited just to that geographic area; you’ve got to think about things as systems. And UTSA studied Urban and Regional Planning, so thinking about that regional interconnectivity is incredibly important.”
Walsh discussedUTSA’s expansion and Western Urban’s contributions. Walsh acknowledged the importance of managing risk and balancing public and private interests. He also highlighted the potential for future development along San Pedro Avenue and the role of rapid transit in shaping the city’s growth.
The final topic of discussion for panelists were centered around the Soap Factory apartments and future housing developments.
“The density of the Soap Factory is not appropriate for downtown,” Robinson said. “You’ve got 381 units across nine acres right in our downtown. That’s just not the level of density that is sustainable.It has provided some fantastic housing. But the truth is, it is at the end of its life as a property.”
“What’s happened at the Soap Factory, because of the public process and the proposed stadium, has created a unique space for us to have that conversation. We’re talking about billions of dollars and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, but that doesn’t matter without people. We want to be extremely sensitive and thoughtful about the residents of San Antonio who have chosen to live downtown.”
Rivard then asked the panelists to delve deeper into what housing might look like over the next five to seven years and how it will cater to people at various income levels. “I’ll get started with the students. When we talk about 10,000 students, we have to maintain a ratio. While we also have a residential campus, it’s about 20 percent of that. The demand for housing for college students, faculty and staff supports about 20 percent of that. I think that pushes the need for significant development to create the synergies we’re looking for,” Salazar responded.
DeBerry addressed the housing crisis in central San Antonio, stating, “You talked about the ‘Decade of Downtown,’ which was hugely important because it inspired 10,000 units downtown. I view this period as both a blessing and a curse. It inspired great housing, but it also put an expiration date on downtown. We have to continue investing in other areas. The truth is, we never stop investing in the urban core. We never stop ideating, innovating or investing.”
