The public got an idea Tuesday of what VIA Metropolitan Transit's long-awaited West Side Multimodal Center could look like after the agency's board members were presented with a conceptual design plan for the second phase of the transit hub project.

The board could vote on the plan by late summer, so VIA could submit it to the federal government for environmental clearance this fall.

The first phase of the center, located in the city's old train depot, opens in December. That will coincide with the launch of VIA's new bus rapid transit line, VIAPrímo.

Construction on the second, larger phase of the multimodal center could begin in a year and a half. The entire center could open by 2015.

VIA hopes that the center, located west of Interstate 35 in the shadow of the University of Texas at San Antonio Downtown Campus, will become a major hub for bus rapid transit, a planned downtown streetcar system and possibly a future rail line between Austin and San Antonio called LSTAR, and even Amtrak or Greyhound bus service.

“This square is going to kick off major redevelopment of all these (surrounding) blocks,” said Stanton Eckstut with EE&K Architects, which produced the new plan.

The latest conceptual design features a covered outdoor waiting area that curves around a central open-air plaza.

The second phase could one day include private development, such as restaurants and shops. It could feature a “tree garden” with a penetrable ground surface that acts as a natural drainage system. Patrons waiting in the area will have a clear view — what project planners have dubbed a “gateway” — to the train depot.

All the plans are subject to change before breaking ground.

VIA also still has to buy the desired lot for the second phase. Catty-corner to the train depot, the site includes several buildings and is the home of the Fiesta event Tejano Explosion. Officials hope to buy it no later than June 2013, said Arturo Herrera Jr., a planner in VIA's strategic planning and project development department.

The center has been in the works for more than a decade but its completion has been delayed by various funding and planning constraints.

Today, VIA has identified $35 million in funding for the project: $15 million came from a third round of the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant program, known as TIGER III.

An additional $10 million will come from funding already set aside for bus rapid transit. The final $10 million for the center was budgeted as part of the agency's $239 million capital plan, funded by VIA, Bexar County and the city last fall.

The center is among many new VIA projects the agency has publicized in recent weeks. Earlier this month, VIA launched a text-message service that allows patrons to use their phones to find out when their bus will arrive. Last week, VIA unveiled its bus rapid transit vehicle, a 60-foot bus that can carry more passengers and will include video information screens and WiFi.

Also Tuesday, trustees voted to hire two companies — AECOM and HDR Inc. — to do environmental planning and consultant work for the downtown streetcar project. VIA board Chairman Henry Muñoz III, who did not attend the meeting, had recused himself from the selection process.

vdavila@express-news.net

Twitter: @viannadavila