At their last meeting of 2013, a few weeks ago, Bexar County Commissioners approved a $17.2 million design and management contract for its sweeping San Pedro Creek project. Munoz & Company will serve as lead architect of record. The other participating firms are Pape Dawson Engineering; Alamo Architects; and Ford, Powell & Carson Architects. Read the Express-News story for more.

The project, for now, rings in at $175 million. At the presentation, an economic analysis showed the investment returned in 7 to 8 years in the form of ad valorem and sales tax revenues to all public agencies.

The design is expected to take 18 to 24 months. During this time, the county will look to procure property along the creek, a lot of it owned by the city of San Antonio, other pieces by private companies. The design process will dictate what land or right-of-ways will have to be handed over or purchased.

To pay for the project  which runs from the tunnel inlet behind Fox Tech High School down south to where it meets I-35 past Cevallos Street  the county estimates $125 million will be funded through certificates of obligation, a form of debt the county incurs.

About $30 million will come in the form of right-of-ways  both public and private  that the county expects to receive. The county still has to consider from where to draw the remaining $20 million. The San Antonio River Authority, the project’s manager, will likely set up a foundation.

St. Mary’s University professor Steve Nivin, who prepared an economic impact study, wrote in the report that the economic effects would likely be similar to those being seen along the Museum Reach of the River Walk. He expects a revitalized San Pedro Creek to bring residential development, thus contributing to the city’s goal of increasing the number of housing units downtown.

The project also would remove 41.8 acres from the FEMA flood plain along the creek.

“When we can take an opportunity to do what our job is  that’s flood control  and make it an amenity, too, we kill two birds with one stone,” Commissioner Kevin Wolff said.

Commissioners hope to complete the project by 2018, the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city, or the Mission San Antonio de Valero. But county manager David Smith said he seriously doubts the whole project will be completed by then.

Almost all feel that the project will become a catalyst for the west side of downtown.

“You’re already starting to see the benefits based on the announcements and design,” county manager David Smith said.









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