Editor’s note: Each week, the San Antonio Report publishes a brief synopsis of the weekly bigcitysmalltown podcast hosted by Robert Rivard, co-founder of the Report.
Between the proposed minor league baseball stadium, a possible new arena for the Spurs and the further expansion of UTSA into downtown, Trish DeBerry sees the glimmers of a center city renaissance.
But as the head of Centro San Antonio, the nonprofit responsible for maintaining and advocating for downtown, DeBerry is also deeply aware of the perception that downtown is not safe, largely driven by the presence of a homeless population that is itself often victimized.
DeBerry spoke frankly about both the opportunities and challenges facing downtown San Antonio on episode #71 of the bigcitysmalltown podcast.
The show opened and closed with details about Park(ing) Day on Sept. 20, where communities around the world take metered parking spaces back from the cars for a day and fill each 10-by-20-foot space with art, performances, greenery, commerce and even critters — the San Antonio Zoo is one of dozens of local nonprofits participating.
This year, Houston Street will be closed to traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. as participants set up their installations, with the event running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The goal is to help people reimagine a downtown that isn’t so dependent on the car, said DeBerry.
Fully a third of downtown is made up of surface parking lots, three times more than most major cities, she said. “That is hugely valuable real estate.”
DeBerry’s discussion with host Robert Rivard soon turned to the minor league baseball stadium plan recently approved by City Council and the housing developer Weston Urban has planned as critical component of the project.
She described the housing that has grown up around Nashville’s new minor league stadium in a once-depressed neighborhood. “There are seven cranes surrounding that baseball park” building housing, she said. “And it’s not just market rate, it’s affordable housing too.”
Later in the episode, Rivard praised Centro for convening the city and leading organizations working to address homelessness “that are really collaborating in a way I’ve never seen before in my decades here in San Antonio.”
Centro works with Baptist Family Services, Christian Assistance Ministries, Corazón Ministries at Travis Park Church and other nonprofits, plus the city and San Antonio Police Department, to help get people connected to services.
“But long-term, Bob, what I will tell you, and I preach this every single day, we have got to have more mental health beds in this community,” she said.
Listen to the entire conversation to learn more about why DeBerry thinks a new Spurs stadium will be a bigger lift than the baseball stadium, but how “bookending” downtown with them could unleash a new wave of development.
