View Single Post
  #79  
Old Posted May 1, 2008, 12:06 PM
texboy texboy is offline
constructor extrodinaire!
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,614
City wants to take over River North planning

Web Posted: 05/01/2008 12:04 AM CDT

Greg Jefferson
Express-News

Facing suspicions that planning for River North has been tainted by insider dealings, City Manager Sheryl Sculley on Wednesday moved to take over the process and remove the not-for-profit organization that oversaw the plan’s creation from the picture altogether.

In a memo to the City Council on Wednesday, Sculley also recommended buying the draft plan from the Downtown San Antonio Community Development Corp., a nonprofit arm of the Downtown Alliance, a high-profile coalition of property owners.

“We’re not pointing fingers or saying there’s something wrong,” Deputy City Manager Pat DiGiovanni said. “We’re just trying to deal with the perception that the process is flawed.”

More than a year ago, the city allowed the Downtown San Antonio Community Development Corp. to take control of planning for River North’s redevelopment as a walkable neighborhood designed to make downtown living attractive again.

More recently, property owners have hounded the nonprofit and the city with complaints. Some felt left out, some worried about major zoning changes that the plan called for and some suspected certain insiders had tilted the process to their advantage.

A group called the River North Improvement Association was organized to oppose the plan. A representative of the group could not be reached for comment, but their concerns got the city’s attention.

“Frankly, we don’t see a role for the CDC in the planning process — during the public planning process that’s going to commence,” DiGiovanni said.

Ben Brewer III, president of the Downtown Alliance, sounded resigned to that move Wednesday night.

“Although we spent a year on the plan, the CDC is not a property owner in River North,” said Brewer, who’s also president of the nonprofit. “So it’s appropriate that the CDC take a backseat during the approval process.”

He added: “The bottom line is we want to see a plan put in place for the area — there’s tremendous opportunity for River North.”

River North is a 355-acre territory northeast of downtown, hemmed in by Interstates 35 and 37. The area’s got a few jewels — including the San Antonio Museum of Art — but much of it is rundown and under-utilized.

However, San Antonio River improvements, now under way between Lexington Avenue and Josephine Street, could spark a residential revival, potentially transforming River North into a neighborhood.

Much of the attention has focused on developer Ed Cross, who owns millions of dollars worth of River North real estate through a string of partnerships. He also sits on the CDC’s nine-member Master Plan Oversight Committee, which oversaw the hiring of a California planning firm — Moule & Polyzoides — and later served as a sounding board for its ideas.

In the draft plan, rolled out in public meetings in December and January, property that Cross and partners controls on two sides of Maverick Park and a nearby corner got a potentially lucrative designation that would allow for taller buildings, as did several parcels owned by others.

Cross has said he didn’t push planners to give favorable treatment to his property. He couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Nearly a year ago, the CDC secured a line of credit from Broadway National BankÖ to pay for the plan, and so far has drawn between $550,000 and $600,000, Brewer said. The city would pay off that debt if the council agrees to Sculley’s recommendations, essentially establishing an up-front price for its more central role.

DiGiovanni said the city, in turn, could get reimbursed with tax increment financing that eventually will be available in River North.

City officials, he said, would use Moule & Polyzoides’ work as “a starting point.” He also said the city would separate the plan from controversial zoning changes proposed in the draft.
Reply With Quote