COMPLETE: Rehabilitation of Historic Homes @ Hemisfair Park
Happy Friday everyone! San Antonio's downtown Hemisfair Park is known as the site of the 1968 World’s Fair, a cultural landmark event spearheaded by U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez and future HemisFair ’68 CEO William Sinkin, to celebrate the city's 250th Anniversary. The park still hosts numerous houses within it, some dating back to the Spanish Colonial Era and have been designated as State Archeological Landmarks. The nonprofit organization that oversees the park’s redevelopment on behalf of the city, known as HPARC (Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation), refers to these homes today as "Park Activators".
HPARC set out to rehabilitate these historic structures in order to draw small businesses to the park that reflect the spirit of San Antonio and allow visitors to stay longer in the park. Fisher Heck was hired to lead a design team that was tasked with documenting existing conditions for ten of the buildings, then preparing construction drawings for various stages of repair and restoration in coordination with the park's master landscape plans, and then oversee the construction work on each of the homes. The dwellings varied in size, style and level of deterioration. The homes are now ready for new tenants to make the homes their own, while further contributing to the overall experience of the park.
Today, there are several operating businesses within these homes, including B-Cycle and Paleteria San Antonio. Soon, additional eateries will be moving into their new homes, including Con/Safos, Dough Pizzeria Napoletana and CommonWealth Bakery. We can't wait to see the remaining structures become reactivated as the park continues to grow and attract more visitors. It is a true honor to continue to be a part of this amazing transformation and the staff at HPARC have just been amazing to work with. We would also like to thank our friend Dror Baldinger for taking some great photographs of the homes for us. To see the remaining photographs, please click on the image below. Enjoy!
