DEPARTMENT: Center City Development & Operations Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Lori Houston
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
Subject: Alamo Plaza Master Planning Process
SUMMARY:
The Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee has developed a vision and guiding principles that will assist in the redevelopment of the Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area. This Ordinance authorizes staff to initiate a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify a team that can develop a comprehensive master plan for Alamo Plaza that is consistent with the vision and guiding principles. This Ordinance also endorses the vision, guiding principles, and the update to the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report as completed by the Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On March 6, 2014, City Council approved a process for the development of a comprehensive master plan for Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area, and established a 21 member Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee.
The 21-member committee is comprised of one member appointed by each City Council District and eleven members appointed by the Mayor. The committee includes 3 tri-chairs and 8 representatives of the following categories:
(1) member from the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report
(3) members from the fields of history and archeology
(1) member representing the State of Texas
(1) member representing the Federal Government
(1) member representing private property owners
(1) member from the field of tourism
The committee was charged with updating the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study, creating a vision and guiding principles for the redevelopment of Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area, assisting in the development of the scope of work for a request for qualifications for the development of a comprehensive master plan, and in providing general oversight of the development of the master plan.
Since May, the Committee has met 14 times and received presentations on the history, operations, guidelines, and relevant plans pertaining to Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area. A public meeting was held on August 26th and community input was incorporated into the vision and guiding principles which were presented to the Quality of Life Committee on October 21st and City Council at the November 12th B Session. The vision for the Alamo Plaza and surrounding area is multifaceted and includes the following:
- Engage local residents and visitors in ways to personally connect to the Alamo area experience.
- Tell the story of the Battle of the Alamo and its impact on the Republic of Texas, City of San Antonio, State of Texas, the United States and the international community.
- Include and interpret the diverse cultures that contributed to the story of the Alamo area through meaningful and memorable experiences for visitors.
- Tell the in-depth history of the Alamo area to the present day as a tribute to all who lived, fought, and died there.
The 8 guiding principles listed below will define the visitor experience at the Alamo Plaza area through the diversity of interpretation, accessibility, balance, connectivity, and unified leadership.
1. The 1836 Battle of the Alamo, the most widely recognized event, provides an opportunity to tell the entire history of the Alamo area;
2. Unified leadership under the management of a single steward (public and private) with a sustainable business model;
3. Preservation and interpretation based on historical and archaeological evidence
4. Embrace intellectual, experiential and physical accessibility;
5. Balance scholarship, historical context, folklore and myth to provide an engaging visitor experience;
6. Create a premier Visitor Experience through physical space and interpretation
7. Embrace the continuum of history to foster understanding and healing; and
8. Enhance connectivity and wayfinding to the river, neighborhoods, La Villita, the cathedral, and the other Plazas.
The Committee also presented an update to the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report, which identifies the themes, as well as primary and secondary goals that become central to visitor interpretation and inform the comprehensive master planning effort.
City staff that a request for qualifications (RFQ) be issued for the comprehensive master plan. Any responding team must be multi-disciplinary with significant experience in the creation of successful interpretive and physical master plans for iconic and historically significant sites of national and international importance. The team will develop a master plan that will include the following components:
- Investment and management plan;
- Implementation strategies;
- Interpretation elements; and
- Physical master plan.
The selected candidates must incorporate the vision and guiding principles into the comprehensive master plan. If authorized to proceed, the RFQ will be issued in December 2014. Candidates will be shortlisted and interviewed in March 2015 and City Council will award a professional services contract by June of 2015. The master plan will take twelve months to develop and will be presented to City Council for adoption in the summer of 2016.
ISSUE:
City staff recommends that a Request for Qualifications be issued for a comprehensive master plan team for the Alamo Plaza Area, and that City Council endorse the vision, guiding principles and the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report update as completed by the Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council could recommend an alternative process or that no action be taken to develop a comprehensive master plan for Alamo Plaza.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for the master plan is available from the 2012 Bond Program.
RECOMMENDATION:
City staff recommends that City Council authorize the solicitation of an RFQ for a comprehensive master plan. Staff also recommends that City Council endorse the vision, guiding principles, and the update to the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report.