The School of Architecture + Planning (SA+P) has relocated from the Durango Building at the UT San Antonio Downtown Campus to One Riverwalk Place. An email was sent out on Aug. 6 to inform students in the architecture, interior design and urban and regional planning programs of this new relocation, which took effect on Aug. 21.
UT San Antonio purchased One Riverwalk Place in March and is now part of the expansion of the Southwest Campus. The SA+P will occupy five floors of the 18-story office building.
Michelangelo Sabatino has been appointed as the new Director of the SA+P. The former Professor of Architecture and History Preservation from the Illinois Institute of Technology will officially start his role Sept. 1.
Coming into a new chapter for the SA+P made the idea of moving to San Antonio more appealing, according to Sabatino.
“I think now with this new opportunity to be right in the heart of the city, we can serve as a bridge between knowledge, creation, design, research and the needs of different constituencies. For example, whether it’s community members, business members or engaging with tourism in the city, there’s a series of needs that the city and the region has in terms of how to build better and how to build a more beautiful city,” Sabatino said.
With the university changing the course location two weeks before classes begin, students in the SA+P will have to adjust to commuting downtown for class. Juan Ochoa, an architecture student in his junior year, visited the campus early and saw the layout.
“I am very excited for the move in general just because it’s a completely new area. Based on what I did see, there is a lot more greenery and more exposed open areas to allow ourselves to have a break, so it’s kind of nice,” Ochoa said.
With Ochoa’s experience so far, he prefers the new building. Ochoa shared what features he looks forward to the most at One Riverwalk Place.
“I would say I like the lighting. I feel there’s a bunch more windows, so there’s more natural light. And honestly, I think that was a big issue. There wasn’t much lighting in the studios. Doing projects by hand and stuff, it gets a little hard to be able to work. I definitely love the courtyard because it has a little path that leads off to the river,” Ochoa said.
Itzel Ramos, a Masters student studying at the SA+P for more than five years explains her qualms with the new building.
“We’re all very excited to relocate for a change, but there’s no parking. We have been struggling with finding parking around the area, whether it’s UTSA parking or the garage,” Ramos said.
“It’s more noisy than what it was before on the other campus. The bus route is more tricky than getting to the other downtown campus; you have to take more stops. There are also more homeless people around. For safety reasons, it is not ideal.”
As UT San Antonio adjusts for a growing student and faculty population in the SA+P, Sabatino agreed the college needed to relocate to a new building. Sabatino further explains One Riverwalk Place is “a great fit” for the SA+P.
“I see it as a kind of training to be more of an urban citizen. You know, there’s going to be, inevitably, challenges with parking and commuting, but I would hate to see those challenges get in the way of appreciating our opportunities in terms of seeing different ways of engaging with the city,” Sabatino said.
One Riverwalk Place is expected to occupy more programs and services in the future, integrating the Institute of Economic Development and a full-service food counter by Spring 2026.
