Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoiler
Wasn't it agreed on this forum that the reason for so little development downtown was that the price of land downtown had become artificially inflated by the demand for hotel rooms or something? I don't really know why there's been so little development for the last several decades but things sure are picking up now and I would really like it if there was an emphasis placed on public transit with this development in the future, that's all.
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You're right on the above, but the Greyhound station is also a problem for that immediate area. ICE pretty regularly drops off detainees at the bus station who have no means of going anywhere, and other Texas cities often give their homeless one-way tickets to San Antonio or other cities and a free meal if they board the bus. It's pretty despicable, but the crowd the station attracts has negatively impacted that area for a long time. That coupled with the vacant Hedrick Building that has for decades been broken into and attracted vagrants, has really held back Downtown.
There are companies that go to look at a nice office but that overlooks the Greyhound station and they are concerned for their employees' safety when "scary" people are milling about the station. While we all know a little grit is part of the "charms" of Downtown living and is pretty normal in other cities, these companies may not understand that.
As Greyhound's focus is on city-to-city transit, it doesn't really move the needle for transit in San Antonio locally to have them Downtown. And at the end of the day, Greyhound is used by people all over the city, and its current location is not that easily accessible for most, as it's literally in the center of Downtown. I think if Greyhound moved but was replaced by a VIA hub, that would be an interesting concept, and piggybacks off your comments above.
EDIT: as mentioned previously--Greyhound renewed its lease recently, though, so they probably aren't moving any time soon unless the city forces it.