The San Antonio River Authority announced Thursday that two more sections of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park have been completed and are now open to the public.
Spanning a half mile from El Paso to South Alamo streets, the recently completed sections feature new walkways and public art, and lead visitors directly to the contemporary art museum Ruby City.
With Phases 2 and 4.1 now open, the 2.2-mile linear park in downtown San Antonio is set to be fully open in summer 2024.
The $300 million effort to transform a littered drainage ditch into an urban amenity was divided into four phases, with construction managed by the San Antonio River Authority and funding provided by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio.
Work crews began in 2016 and the first segment of Phase 1 opened in 2018.
Other phases have followed, most recently with Phases 1.2 and 1.3 opening last year from Houston Street to East César E. Chávez Boulevard.
Still under construction are the third phase, from South Alamo Street past Cevallos Street, and Phase 4.2, which stretches from East César E. Chávez Boulevard to El Paso Street.
Officials have estimated that, when complete, the park will have a $1.5 billion economic impact on the city.
During a Wednesday afternoon groundbreaking event for UTSA’s San Pedro II building, former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff pointed to the project as helping to stimulate development by UTSA at Dolorosa Street.
“We’re amazed to see this happening along the creek,” he said.
Artists whose work is featured in the newly opened section include Elizabeth Carrington, Rikkianne Van Kirk, Eddie Vega and Leticia Huerta.
Van Kirk’s installation, titled A Place of Origins, highlights avian wildlife and functions as a shade canopy at Mustard Seed Plaza in Phase 2.
In celebration of the park phase reaching Ruby City, a new exhibit, Water Ways, has brought together 50 water-themed artworks from the museum’s collection. In Phase 2, a stepped terrace leads from the creek up to the museum’s red concrete entrance.
Maps and signage along the creek provide information about the creek’s features and history of the area.
Visitors can park in a new surface lot at 180 El Paso St. that also functions as a trailhead. There are bike lanes along Main Street and South Flores.
