Shade trees, improved walkways, new lighting and signage are coming soon to Alamo Plaza, the Promenade and Paseo, now that a city panel has approved extensive redesign plans.
The Historic and Design Review Commission recommended on Wednesday that certificates of appropriateness be awarded for the three distinct projects under the $550 million Alamo Plan.
Kate Rogers, executive director of the Alamo Trust, caretaker of the Shrine to Texas Liberty, said the improvements to Alamo Plaza and the Paseo del Alamo are intended to enhance the visitor experience and ensure preservation of the historic site.
“By improving accessibility, sustainability, and educational opportunities, we are creating a richer, more engaging environment for all who visit the Alamo,” she said in an emailed statement.
The commission approved plans for changes to the lower paseo, a pedestrian area west of Alamo Plaza and east of Losoya Street, that include modifications to the site, buildings and landscaping. Plans that were first revealed late last year show a new water feature, pedestrian seating and interpretive signs.
Changes to the building will allow for a welcome center with a ticketing office and restrooms in the paseo, a common entry point for visitors to the Alamo from the San Antonio River Walk.
Design plans were submitted to the city’s Office of Historic Preservation by Natalie Hugentobler, an architect with the firm Gensler. The total cost of the project is just under $31 million.
Commissioners also approved plans for major changes to Alamo Plaza, north of Plaza de Valero and the Mission Gate and Lunette, and also the Alamo Promenade, which is south of Plaza de Valero.
New trees and raised plant beds are included in the plans along with new paving, curbs, seating, lighting poles and statues — plus a security gate arm and traffic bollards.
A representative from the Conservation Society of San Antonio told commissioners the group favored the use of bollards over the security gate planned for the Plaza.
“Having seen bollards proposed as a vehicular barrier at Losoya Street and the Paseo, we wonder if they could be used in place of the traffic control gate arm at Commerce Street and the promenade,” said Kate Ruckman, first vice president of the Conservation Society. “Bollards are more pedestrian friendly and present a less visually incongruent appearance within the historic district.”
The Alamo Plaza improvements will cost over $24 million and the Promenade, over $10 million. Gensler’s Hugentobler submitted the design plans to the city.
The plan to improve the area has gone through multiple revisions since first presented as part of the Alamo redevelopment in 2018. The first plan was abandoned after the Texas Historical Commission denied a permit to relocate the Alamo Cenotaph from its place in the middle of Alamo Plaza.
In 2021, the City of San Antonio announced that those initial plans, which also would have restricted pedestrian access as part of an Alamo redevelopment, were no longer on the table.
The three projects approved Wednesday were reviewed by the Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee and developed with the City of San Antonio’s vision and guiding principles in mind, said an Alamo Trust spokesman.
Street closures to allow for construction in the area have already begun.
The entire Alamo Plan, with its new visitor center and museum, is expected to be completed in 2027.
The Alamo Trust is a financial supporter of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of business members, click here.