DEPARTMENT: Center City Development and Operations
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: District 1
SUBJECT:
Proposed Historic Market Square Visioning Process
SUMMARY:
A briefing by the Center City Development and Operations Department on the proposed Historic Market Square Visioning Process.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Historic Market Square is the crossroads of many of the major developments happening within the downtown district including University of Texas at San Antonio, 2017 Bond Infrastructure Projects, San Pedro Creek Culture Park, Alameda Theatre, and Frost Tower. Historic Market Square has the opportunity to bring some of the past into the present, to tell diverse cultural stories, and to be an incredible hub of cultural activity in Zona Cultural.
As such, the City established a collaborative visioning process in partnership with Historic Market Square tenants La Familia Cortez, Centro, UTSA, Cristus Santa Rosa, and other property owners and key stakeholders to create a clear and unified vision for Historic Market Square. In an effort to ensure stakeholders have an active role in enhancing this key destination, the City engaged Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and Grupo Diseño Urbano (GDU) to conduct visioning sessions for Historic Market Square and the surrounding area. The consultants have submitted a proposal to develop a vision and framework that can guide Historic Market Square and support additional initiatives in Zona Cultural.
Staff is forming a Steering Committee, with balanced representation of local stakeholders to work with the City, Centro San Antonio, and consultants to guide the visioning process. Additionally, AIA San Antonio, in partnership with Latinos in Architecture (LiA), will provide ongoing review and feedback directly related to stakeholder involvement and public engagement to ensure the visioning session and report are reflective of the community input process and that Historic Market Square continues to be a culturally vibrant destination.
The Historic Market Square Visioning process will be grounded in a shared understanding of the cultural legacy of El Mercado and Farmers Market. Historic Market Square will continue to be a culturally vibrant destination and authentic marketplace for Mexican, Latin, and international retail. The goal will be to achieve a collaborative vision for Historic Market Square and the surrounding public spaces, create an open dialogue with stakeholders, and create a set of recommendations for future capital projects, programming and amenities related to Historic Market Square. The city is committed to preserving the historic and cultural significance already present in the market, including small businesses.
The proposed Visioning Process will commence in late June and conclude in September with a Vision Report that clearly defines a unified vision for Market Square and identifies specific projects for consideration in future bond projects.
ISSUE:
This item provides a briefing on the proposed Historic Market Square Visioning Process and recommended next steps.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of the Visioning Process for PPS and GDU consultant fees is $100,000, which will be funded equally by City of San Antonio and Centro San Antonio. In addition, the City will fund $5,000 for LiA’s advisory fee. Funding in the amount of $55,000 is available in the Market Square Fund.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.