Originally published in News4SA
Although the sights and sounds of construction are familiar for many parts of downtown, leaders with Centro San Antonio say the growing pains will be well worth it in the long run.
“We want to have a strong downtown to be competitive. It is a retention play for talent, but it is also a recruitment play. People want that kind of quality of life in that urban environment,” said Esserlieu Khalil.
According to city leaders, development in the urban core is still very much a big deal with a lot underway.
Lori Houston, an Assistant City Manager for the City of San Antonio said, “The good news is, downtown is continuing to grow. And I don’t see development stopping.”
Houston says the 5-year forecast for the downtown area includes nearly 60 projects worth over $3 billion in construction. That includes hundreds of millions for street and capital improvements, along with cultural amenities, close to half a dozen hotel projects, and nearly 2 dozen housing developments bringing thousands of units.
“Downtown really was just the office market and the hotel market for the longest time and you need housing to create a neighborhood. And downtown is a
