A plan to overhaul Alamo Plaza moved a step closer to reality Tuesday as the six-member Alamo Management Committee unanimously approved the Alamo site plan, sending it forward for a decision that could be made this week by Land Commissioner George P. Bush and Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

The vote, held by phone with participants in San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth, advances a public-private project expected to cost up to $450 million to close the city plaza to traffic, provide more shaded pedestrian space and create interpretation and exhibits to complement a new Alamo museum on the west side of the plaza.

“After years of dedication and debate, the Alamo Management Committee has voted to restore the historic mission footprint and 1836 battleground,” San Antonio developer Gene Powell, committee chairman, said in a release.

The management committee is composed of Powell and Fort Worth philanthropist Ramona Bass, both representing the nonprofit Alamo Endowment; City Councilman Roberto Treviño and City Manager Sheryl Sculley; and Special Counsel Hector Valle and Director of Communications Bryan Preston, both with the Texas General Land Office, which manages the state-owned portion of the Alamo site.

The vote reaffirmed last week’s support by a 30-member Alamo Citizen Advisory Committee of strategies calling for closure of streets in the plaza to traffic; potential reuse of three state-owned historic buildings to house the museum; repair and relocation of the 1930s Cenotaph; and specific “entry points” for pedestrians entering the plaza.

The plan also will be reviewed by two city boards, and could be acted on by City Council in November. Cenotaph relocation and changes to the buildings are subject to review by the Texas Historical Commission.

Scott Huddleston is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA