SAN ANTONIO – There is a noticeable difference between what you see on either side of Broadway Street, just under U.S. Highway 281.
One side is busy with the hustle and bustle of The Pearl, but across the way, there is not much going on. However, there are signs something is in the works.
Broadway East San Antonio signage is posted throughout the area.
The San Antonio Business Journal reports Fulcrum Development and GrayStreet Partners are planning to transform the 15-acre development site along Broadway St., Casa Blanca Street, and North Alamo Street into a brand new retail and office space.
On Wednesday, the developers’ conceptual design plans were approved by the San Antonio’s Historic Design and Review Commission, the San Antonio Business Journal reported.
The city office combed over specific details such as what building materials would be used, the height of buildings, and the design of facades on the structures.
Members of the commission hope to ensure the development fits into the current aesthetics and traditional designs of that area of the Government Hill neighborhood.
Rose Hill, the president of the Government Hill Alliance Neighborhood Association, says, “It’s going to fit in with Broadway.”
Hill said that based on the plans the developers presented to neighbors and the commission, the neighborhood association supports the new project.
But Hill added that parking was a major concern for those who live in the area.
During multiple discussions, Hill said the developers addressed the parking issue.
“They’re going to be adding more parking, so that will not affect the neighborhood, Hill said. “Parking will try to come out off-Broadway and not come in through the neighborhoods.”
A report by the San Antonio Business Journal on the development project cited a publication from Shop Companies, a Dallas-based real-estate firm that was interested in attracting retailers like Louis Vuitton, Rolex, and Gucci.
William Stillwater, the manager of M-Technik, a BMW performance, service, and repair shop, said he hopes the developers do not forget to appeal to the people who live in Government Hill.
“As long as things are priced correctly for the people that live here because the handbags really don’t do much for us over here, but we need stores,” said Stillwater.
KSAT called the Shop Companies several times to find the names of projected and confirmed retailers for Broadway East, but we have not heard back from them.
Stillwater and Hill both say the prospect of more businesses is an encouraging sign for the future of Government Hill.
“I believe it’s a good thing,” Stillwater said. “I believe progress needs to happen in the city.”
“You go to the other areas across town where stores like Neiman Marcus are, and you’re going to find people like us that go over there to shop,” Hill said. “We would like to see those kinds of people come to our neighborhood and be able to spend money in our neighborhood.”
“It helps us, it enriches growth in our neighborhood, and Government Hill is growing faster than you can imagine,” said Stillwater.