The neighborhood that was demolished to make way for San Antonio to host the World’s Fair in 1968 will never be replaced, but the next step in restoring the sense of community that was lost will open this spring at Hemisfair, says Andres Andujar, CEO of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corp. Known as The ’68, the apartment complex nearing completion on the edge of Hemisfair’s Yanaguana Garden will have 151 units. “We have a community we are planting here where the neighborhood was lost,” Andujar says. The opening of the park’s first residential units is just one of several upcoming developments at Hemisfair, which in the next few months will welcome a new sweet shop and a yoga studio along with breaking ground on the second phase of the park’s three-phase redevelopment, Civic Park. By adding residential and retail to the park, Andujar says they’re bringing life to the park at all times of the day while also funding future Hemisfair operations, as the city collects rent on the land private developers utilize. “Our job is to invite everybody in San Antonio to come to Hemisfair once,” he says. “Once we get you here, I believe you will love it so much that you will come back.”
A New Neighborhood
Developed by AREA Real Estate, The ’68, with its 151 units, is an apartment building overlooking Yanaguana Garden that has already begun pre-leasing. Along with studio, one and two-bedroom units, the complex will feature retail spaces on the first floor. Residential developments at Hemisfair require that 10 percent of units be affordable, but Andujar says The ’68 is working with a state abatement program to bring some component of affordability to well over 50 percent of its apartments. “When people live or work upstairs from an open space, they become daily users of that space,” Andujar says, adding that apartments backed by the Opportunity Home San Antonio also are in the works across the street. “The community we are planting here is not only multicultural but also mixed income.” Along with residential parking, The ’68 will include 240 parking spaces for public use.
More Retail
Mary and Frank Collazo are in the final stages of renovating the Pereida House next to Paleteria San Antonio so they can open a second location of their Chocollazo chocolate shop while also debuting a new dessert destination they’re calling Sugar Sugar. Blue Cat Yoga will open soon in the renovated Schultze House near East Nueva Street, and Andujar says they also expect additional food and drink options to occupy parts of the first floor at The ’68 building.
The New Park & Hotel
Construction is set to begin in the coming months on Civic Park, the second phase of Hemisfair’s three-phase green space development plan. The expansive space will include a Great Lawn that can host major events plus gardens, plazas for eating and playing and water features. In the background of this second park, Zachry Hospitality is developing a 200-room hotel, an office building and a residential project, Andujar says. The city is also looking at adding an underground parking structure as part of Civic Park. The multi-million dollar public-private project is expected to be complete in 2022. Tower Park, for which plans are in the works, will complete Hemisfair’s three phases in 2024.