After more than 18 months of constructing a multi-purpose educational center, a 100,000-gallon water catchment system, and “functionally floral” pavilions, the three-acre Confluence Park is 43 days from completion.
The grand unveiling for the $13 million Southside park at 310 W. Mitchell St. is set for Jan. 17, 2018 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The park is located near the convergence of the San Antonio River and the San Pedro Creek. It is accessible from the Mission Reach, from the incoming San Pedro Creek Improvements Project, and has 47 parking spaces on a rain-permeable lot. A B-Cycle station will be placed next to the parking lot.
“It’s amazing how we’re tying … the city together,” said Frates Seeligson, director of Confluence Park.
The park will promote the preservation of waterways, sustainable building, and land-use practices, and showcase the region’s ecology. The five demonstration ecotypes inside the park are grassland, live oak savannah, Trans Pecos/Chihuahuan Desert, and the San Antonio River.
Designed with stewardship in mind, the site aims to educate students on the river and its ecological system. With enough space for three school buses to unload children at the Mitchell Street entrance, the site can accommodate nearly 180 students.
“Everything is designed for a reason at the park,” Seeligson said.
Robert Amerman, executive director of the San Antonio River Foundation, said the San Antonio River Authority would contribute educational curriculum and infrastructure for scheduling school fields trip to the site. Other opportunities for utilizing the park include weekend health fairs and summer camps.
Operating hours have yet to be finalized, but will likely mimic those of other parks in San Antonio. The park technically is accessible 24 hours a day. The pavilions are equipped with special coatings that allow for easy removal of graffiti, Amerman said, but the low number of tagging incidents along the Mission Reach indicate that surrounding communities’ respect for public places.
Funds for the project came from a variety of sources. The City and County contributed 36 percent of the park’s total cost, Amerman said, with the rest of the funding coming from corporations, private donors, and philanthropic organizations.
The same day as the grand unveiling on Jan. 17, Pink Martini will play a benefit concert from 7-10 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre in support of the River Foundation and the Las Casas Foundation. For tickets, click here.
Who’s putting in the rainwater catchment system, please?
Hello Myfe – SpawGlass is the contractor for the system. Rialto Studio designed the system with engineering support by Pape-Dawson. The subterranean product is called an “Atlantis Chamber” by GeoSolutions: http://www.geosolutionsinc.com/products/lid-atlantis-chambers.html
Hope this helps and thank you for your interest. Good luck at Helotes Creek Nature Center!
Nice, but an article about “18 months of constructing” ought to include the name of the constructor.
Thanks Doug – the project has had a dream team involved:
SpawGlass – general contractors, Shertz TX
Rialto Studio – park design / landscape architecture, San Antonio TX
Lake|Flato – pavilion and Estela Avery Education Center design, San Antonio TX
Matsys Design – artist / parametric modeling, Oakland CA
AEC -structural engineers, Austin TX
Pape-Dawson – civil engineering, San Antonio TX
Urban Concrete – cast-in-place concrete, San Antonio TX
Kreysler & Assoc – computer routed fiberglass formwork, American Canyon CA
OCI Solar – photovoltaics, San Antonio TX
Stuart Allen – Owner’s rep project management, San Antonio TX
Along with a host of subcontractors and in-kind supporters with apologies that we can’t name them all!
The SA River Foundation can’t say nice enough things about working with this group.
I have long commented on the curious habit certain local publications have of reporting on notable new projects without any mention of the teams that design and build them. The construction industry alone makes up approximately 1/7 of the area’s economic output, employing 124,500 people in the San Antonio area with an economic impact of $32.5 billion each year and a local payroll of $5.9 BILLION each year….many of us read these local publications and are interested in knowing who builds these great projects that are enhancing our community. Reporting on a new project without mentioning the design and construction team is akin to describing the first birth of the New Year without mentioning his parents.