Alazan Courts weeks away from redevelopment plan after community feedback period

SAN ANTONIO – The historic Alazan Courts are weeks away from getting a redevelopment plan.

The latest narrowed-down design is a selection of 4 potential plans from August and community feedback. The design focuses on preserving the historical street view of the courts, making more room for green spaces and increasing housing.

Opportunity Home and Able City, the design team behind Reimagine Alazan Courts, presented the community engagement process findings for the Reimagine Alazan Courts project at Tuesday’s San Antonio Neighbors Together event.

“People really wanted to maintain the street presence of the building the existing buildings. Residents really wanted bigger playgrounds and community gathering spaces in the courtyards,” said Seema Kairam, an associate with Able city design company.

The meeting represents Phase 4 of the Reimagine Alazan Courts Master Plan, with Able City sharing design concepts informed by community feedback. The feedback received will then be used to refine the final master plan proposal.

The current design hopes to preserve the historical street view of the courts by leaving the buildings on the street two stories tall. They plan to add more green space for community gatherings by shifting interior buildings off the street. They also want to increase housing by adding three-story buildings to the interior of the courts.

“We we’re at 575 units which was increased from 501, but we’ll probably land closer to about 515? said Kairam.

Kairam explained the numbers are estimates because they are still taking community feedback. Design teams plan on making most units about 25% bigger throughout the renovation process. As they say, the old units are outdated and too small. They hope to have a few more community meetings in the coming weeks and a finalized master plan by the end of November.

For more information on the Reimagine Alazan project, call 210-390-6212, email reimaginealazan@able.city, or visit reimaginealazan.org.