If the development and growth of San Antonio were a motion picture, downtown would be listed as a "feature player" sharing a small trailer in contrast to the posse-packing megastars of the peripheral suburban boundaries. Corporate relocations, major resorts and housing stock have all flocked to the outskirts of the city, creating a doughnut-like development pattern, threatening to flatline downtown vitality. Until now. It's virtually been decades since a mayor has pronounced the city center as a priority, say downtown proponents. Reinvigorating downtown with fresh ideas and energy since taking office, Castro declared 2010 the "Decade of Downtown" at the Downtown Alliance Annual Meeting last summer....

Various downtown events will require temporary street closures. Motorists will be diverted as the City closes several streets to accommodate the events including St. Patrick's Day Parade and Luminaria.

On April 9, 2010, Downtown Alliance will recognize the best people, places, projects and events in downtown San Antonio at the 10th Annual Downtown’s BEST Awards at the Westin Riverwalk. In order to crown the best of the best, Downtown Alliance is currently seeking nominations to be submitted online at http://www.downtownsa.org/best by March 19.