Centro San Antonio helps accommodate downtown's growing residential population, enhance its office and retail market, and position downtown as a premier convention and visitor destination through the efforts of the Public Improvement District.
Current
May 2012
Bond propositions pass easily
May 14, 2012
San Antonio residents Saturday overwhelmingly approved all five
propositions of the $596 million bond program, sending a vote of
confidence to City Hall in an era when taxpayers are generally wary of
major spending initiatives.
January 2012
Councilman Diego Bernal announces San Antonio Bus Pass Meal
Jan 9, 2012
Councilman Diego Bernal, in conjunction with Haven for Hope, VIA and the San Antonio Tourism Council, announces the San Antonio Bus Meal Pass.
December 2011
S.A.'s panhandling law working on streets but not in stairwells
Dec 28, 2011
With a busy weekend coming up in downtown San Antonio, police are
clearing out panhandlers and saying the anti-panhandling ordinance
works. But visitors are still having run-ins.
Recall: Decade of Downtown, Year One
Dec 28, 2011
To be sure, downtown needs some love. The most recent U.S. Census data
shows residents fled the city center in droves over the past decade.
Housing's scarce, storefronts sit empty, and a glut of downtown office
space sits dejectedly on the market. To turn the urban core around,
Mayor Julián Castro made the "Decade of Downtown" a cornerstone of the
SA 2020 plan gleaned from months of community input.
November 2011
Talks Underway to Move Missions Baseball Downtown
Nov 3, 2011
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is urging talks between the city,
county, UTSA and the San Antonio Missions to relocate the team to the
downtown area.
S.A. needs downtown post office
Nov 3, 2011
All major U.S. cities, and many minor ones, have at least one downtown post office. Part of what makes any downtown area a vital place to work, shop and even live is a post office where businesses and individuals can send and receive mail.
If the U.S. Postal Service has its way, however, San Antonio will be a glaring exception to this rule. The Postal Service has placed the downtown post office in the historic Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building on Alamo Plaza on its list of sites to be considered for closure.
August 2011
Express-News: Incentives are set for downtown grocery
Aug 19, 2011
The City Council set aside $1 million in incentives Thursday for a downtown grocery store, which sources say H-E-B plans to build near its corporate headquarters south of César E. Chávez Boulevard. The store is expected to be between 10,000 and 12,000 square feet and include a gas station, the sources said. Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Incentives-are-set-forgrocery-2122044.php#ixzz1VVDobPZ4
KENS5: Change for change: City converts old parking meters to donation stations
Aug 19, 2011
The City of San Antonio is using retired parking meters to help the homeless.
The coins collected will support homeless programs at San Antonio's Haven for Hope, which houses about 2,500 people every night. “This is an innovative way to reuse materials that still maintain functionality but have been replaced with technology,” said Paula Stallcup, director of the Downtown Operations Department. “We hope the new donation stations will be a convenient way to help support homeless programs in San Antonio.” Watch the video here>
July 2011
Downtown Street Closures
Jul 18, 2011
Upcoming downtown events and construction activity will require temporary street closures. Motorists will be diverted as the City closes several streets to accommodate the activity.
May 2011
KSAT: What would you do?
May 25, 2011
KSAT's undercover cameras catch reactions to a "drunk driver" including an Amigo who saved the day... http://www.ksat.com/news/28013365/detail.html
The Palm to honor Centro San Antonio Amigos in celebration of National Tourism Week
May 13, 2011
In celebration of National Tourism Week, The Palm San Antonio
will host the Centro San Antonio Amigos for lunch on Friday May 13, 2011 in
appreciation of their dedication to making downtown a clean and friendly
destination for visitors and locals from near and far. While the Amigos are
invited to dine al fresco, they will be looked over by not only The Palm’s
attentive staff but the smiling “faces” of San Antonio’s leading businessmen,
politicians and celebrities whose caricatures line the restaurant’s famed
walls. Often called “the face of San Antonio,” themselves, the 65+ Amigos
provide a host of services that improve downtown through the Ambassador,
Streetscaping, and Maintenance programs.
Get Lost: New River Walk Smartphone Tour Invites Visitors to Get Lost in SA River Walk History
May 9, 2011
Using
state-of-the-art technology that makes history accessible, Downtown Alliance and the City of San
Antonio have developed the Hugman River Walk Tour – the only free interactive self-guided tour
of the San Antonio
River Walk. With
a smart phone or pad device, visitors access the tour by scanning a quick
response (QR) code to navigate along the internationally-recognized
tourist attraction. The tour’s QR codes
are found on the River Walk’s wayfinding and interpretive signs.
Centro San Antonio publishes first issue of bi-annual e-newsletter
May 9, 2011
In May 2011, Centro San Antonio published the first issue of a new bi-annual electronic newsletter to provide specific updates on the public improvement district. View the issue online.
KSAT: Gumbusting keeps downtown clean
May 2, 2011
KSAT reporter David Sears tries his hand at gumbusting. Watch the video online at: http://www.ksat.com/news/27725382/detail.html
March 2011
Cleto Rodriguez is an Amigo for the Day
Mar 10, 2011
SAN ANTONIO - The Alamo City is a hot spot for tourists. The city is
gearing up for Spring Break when lots of families will be driving into
town to see the Alamo, the Missions and eat at all our wonderful
restaurants. The men and women in yellow are ambassadors equipped with
the 'must-see' lists and information for tourists. WOAI's own Cleto Rodriguez suited up to try out being a San Antonio 'ambassador.' He quickly discovered it's a serious job! View the video
February 2011
Walk a mile, or 20,000, in their shoes
Feb 10, 2011
Taking
out the trash is never on anyone’s favorite to-do list at home, but imagine
picking up 250 bags of trash a day! The Centro San Antonio Amigos recently
released these and other impressive statistics of the services provided in the downtown Public
Improvement District during the first quarter of the
fiscal year, stretching from Oct 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010.
Kens5 Great Day SA: Amigo for a day
Feb 3, 2011
Kens 5's Great Day SA reporter Eileen Teves is an Amigo for the Day in
this special report that goes behind the scenes of the Maintenance
Amgios. http://www.kens5.com/great-day-sa/Eileen-is-an-amigo-for-the-day-115195304.html
January 2011
La Prensa: DTA and Centro featured in "The Decade of Downtown Goes Digital"
Jan 26, 2011
Downtown Alliance and Centro San Antonio are featured in today's issue of La Prensa on page 9 in "The Decade of Downtown goes Digital." Click here to download the pdf.
Be An Amgio! Centro is hiring
Jan 19, 2011
Centro San Antonio, the Public Improvement District, is hiring! A number of job positions are open through the management company, Block by Block. For the most up to date openings, visit their website: http://www.mycareernetwork.com/clientResumeMgr/?cid=2039
Centro San Antonio's landscaping partner, ISS Grounds Control, is also hiring. For positions available, please email myfuture@groundscontrol.com
Centro San Antonio's landscaping partner, ISS Grounds Control, is also hiring. For positions available, please email myfuture@groundscontrol.com
Express-News: Downtown goes blue to get greener
Jan 10, 2011
In 2010, if the installation of 32 bike racks, the announcement of a bike rental system, and the replacement of some parking meters with the solar-powered stations
weren’t indicators enough of the city’s commitment to make downtown a
greener place, last week the city placed 25 recycle cans throughout the
central business district. Read full article>