Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Monday sent a two-page letter asking that San Antonians be given a chance to provide feedback on the highly anticipated interpretive design for the Alamo Plaza redevelopment before City Council does.
The letter was addressed to Gene Powell, a local real estate developer who sits on virtually every major committee and board pertaining to the redevelopment of the Alamo and its plaza in downtown San Antonio.
“Given the scrutiny and public interest in this project, I believe that all involved should seek opportunities through which the public can learn about and comment on the interpretive design,” Nirenberg wrote. “As such, I am requesting that – prior to a City Council briefing on the interpretive design – that the Alamo Citizen Advisory Committee (ACAC) and the greater San Antonio community have ample opportunity to see the interpretive plan and to provide meaningful input into that design.”
Click here to download the letter that Nirenberg sent to Powell two weeks after he received a joint email from a group of prominent local developers and architects stating their concerns about the Alamo Master Plan’s transparency.
Copied on the letter were Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, and City Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1), whose district includes the downtown landmark.
Rivard Report Publisher Robert Rivard addressed that email exchange in his Sunday column, for which Nirenberg summarized the contents of his letter to Powell, which at the time was in draft form.
Powell is secretary of the Alamo Endowment, chairman of the nonprofit Remember the Alamo Foundation, and chairman of the Alamo Management Committee that was formed as part of an agreement between the City of San Antonio, Texas General Land Office, and the Alamo Endowment to jointly fund and plan the redevelopment of the Alamo complex, plaza, and surrounding downtown district.
He did not respond to a voicemail request for comment prior to publication of this article.
After concerns of transparency arose regarding the Alamo Complex Management, of which Powell is also a member, Bush announced in January that the organization, now called The Alamo Trust, will hold open meetings.
Its first public meeting will take place at Alamo Hall on Wednesday, May 16, at 10 a.m..
