Originally Published in San Antonio Report
The recent release of Tech Bloc’s report on the state of the information technology industry in San Antonio was a wake-up call for those committed to building a more vibrant and prosperous downtown.
Job growth in the sector is happening just about everywhere but downtown. That was no surprise, really, but hearing it from Tech Bloc CEO David Heard, once one of the leading voices supporting the emerging tech district along East Houston Street, has forced other boosters to face post-pandemic reality.
Those of us wishing for a resurgence in the central business district have come to realize there will not be a “return to normal.” Bosses ordering workers back to the office risk losing those workers. Skilled professionals have far more options than they enjoyed pre-pandemic. Tech workers are no longer the only ones who can work wherever a Wi-Fi signal is found.
It would be premature to organize a wake for downtown San Antonio, but nearly three years after former Mayor Julián Castro’s Decade of Downtown came to an end, it’s time to shape a new vision for the downtown bordered to the north by River North and the Pearl, and
