Originally published in the San Antonio Business-Journal
Centro San Antonio, with an assist from an array of urban stakeholders, is launching a Downtown Tomorrow Strategy. It’s a playbook of sorts intended to help guide new economic development opportunities and activity in the wake of a pandemic that has taken a toll on the center city.
Centro leaders are hopeful the new plan will bring renewed focus to priority initiatives that could have long-term positive impact on San Antonio’s urban core as it continues to deal with some of the economic disruption caused by Covid-19.
The plan focuses on several key elements: economic opportunity, residential development and mobility, as well as arts, culture and entertainment. Its rollout comes as Centro San Antonio CEO Matt Brown and other stakeholders warn that the Alamo City’s downtown area is at a crossroads.
The pandemic has changed, for example, where people now live and work, altering some expectations about how the area will evolve.
“There is not a single objective, but rather a vision that reflects a set of interrelated and interdependent objectives,” Brown said, noting that the priority now is “building on all of the progress made to date” and “guiding the next wave of transformation.”
