The real estate development division of the Pearl plans to build two pedestrian bridges this year.
The bridges will span the Museum Reach of the San Antonio River Walk connecting the hotel, restaurants and apartments on the east side of the river with the growing number of projects Oxbow has in the works for the west side.
Bridge construction will get underway this year. The San Antonio River Authority has already signed off on the project and the City’s Historic and Design Review Commission is scheduled to consider the design plans on April 3.
The project is part of a larger effort to improve walkability as the Pearl expands, said Bill Shown, CEO of Oxbow, which he added has several hundred million dollars’ worth of projects in varying stages of construction and planning.
“Several years ago, we declared that Pearl would be the center of the city with a river running through it,” Shown said. “If this is truly the center of a neighborhood, then there’s got to be tons of connectivity, and we’re missing connectivity in … so many ways.”
The first bridge will be located at 1210 E. Elmira St. and Brewmeister’s Alley, a walkway between Hotel Emma and a luxury residential building known as The Cellars.
The 105-foot, painted steel bridge will feature a box truss design and western red cedar decking and will clear the River Walk by more than 8 feet on one end and 13 feet on the other.
That bridge will lead to a new hotel planned for the lot now being used as a surface parking lot.
“We have to get it done and out of the way before we can start The Grove,” Shown said using the working project title for a hotel Oxbow is developing. “There’s no way to build it physically if we start construction over there.”
The 166-room hotel is planned as a more affordable option to the five-diamond Emma Hotel, and construction is set to begin at the end of 2024 or in early 2025, he said. The Oxbow team is now reviewing contractor pricing for the project.
A second bridge is planned farther south connecting the Coopers Row apartment building set to open later this year and the Pullman Market area of the Pearl.
Nearly complete and set to open in May, the renovated Samuels Glass building at Pearl will feature a farm-to-market grocery store and four restaurants, including a pizza parlor, a mezcal bar serving Sonoran cuisine and a dessert bar.
The Coopers Row Bridge, also made of painted steel with western red cedar wood decking, will be a bowstring truss that’s 165 feet in length. It will clear the River Walk by almost 10 feet on one end and over 12 feet on the other.
The planned bridge also provides a connector between the east side of the Pearl — near the 2012-built Can Plant Residences, where apartment renovations are underway, and the Southline Residences, built in 2020 — to the Ice House.
Set to open this year, the restaurant and entertainment venue is being modeled after traditional Texas ice houses and will feature an indoor and outdoor performance stage.
Disclosure: Oxbow and the Pearl are financial supporters of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of our business members, click here.
