New Urbanism Development Comes to San Antonio with Groundbreaking at Vicinia
Mixed-use development pioneers multi-modal neighborhood model
SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- With an additional one million residents expected in San Antonio by 2040, a group of local developers led by Ed Cross is pursuing the City's first ground-up new urbanist project. Vicinia will be a 97-acre mixed-use, infill development on the west side of San Antonio that prioritizes a pedestrian-oriented design to redefine how people live, work, and play.
Vicinia will be the first of its kind built in a suburban San Antonio area; creating a walkable, bikeable, and drivable neighborhood that offers a mix of housing for all incomes and ages, plus retail, office, and community facilities. Besides being the city's first true suburban new urbanist development, Vicinia will also be the first project to utilize San Antonio's Transit Oriented Development ("TOD") zoning code that encourages density near transit facilities. Vicinia hopes to ultimately contain mass transit facilities connecting to other development nodes around the city. It will also provide the first modern town square built outside loop 410 to become the lively center of city council district 6.
"For San Antonio to meet the needs of one million additional residents within 20 years, we need to take steps now to address and hopefully pre-empt challenges that will arise with increased roadway congestion and housing supply," said Ed Cross, CEO of San Antonio Commercial Advisors. "New urbanism design models address these challenges, providing walkable, mixed use environments that minimize dependency on cars, thereby improving life quality and supplying people with more time and a healthier communal life."
New urbanism is a modern development approach that focuses on creating communities that allow residents to walk to a variety of uses including work, play, and shopping; all typically within a quarter mile radius of a transit facility. It focuses on smaller blocks; narrower streets; wide, shaded sidewalks; and a mix of housing types and prices.
"Vicinia is a significant example of what SA Tomorrow can look like," said Councilwoman Melissa Havarda, of District 6. "Cities are often designed around people's main modes of transportation. Vicinia is providing a real alternative to typical suburban development models, helping to encourage walking and incorporate more diverse means of transportations into the design phase so that citizens can utilize healthier and more enjoyable ways to get where they need to go."
Located at the intersection of Military and Potranco, within a suburban area just outside loop 410, Vicinia will offer residences including townhomes, condos, and mixed-use buildings many with ground floor retail spaces. The built-up environment will maximize land use, providing a plan for population density. The town square is a major feature of the master plan and is intended to be the center of community life. It will feature events, recreation space, food truck spots, and a future farmer's market. Strategically located next to the town square will be a new transit center. The overall design encourages a safe and pleasant pedestrian environment near shops and the transit station, limiting conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians.
"Vicinia is a modern revival of how neighborhoods used to be and should be—walkable to everything that's needed but with the addition of vehicular and mass transit options," said Judge Nelson. "This is the pinnacle example of San Antonio's future development goals to capitalize land use and meet the needs of the additional one million people expected to reside in San Antonio by 2040."
Link to renderings - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2mbi82137aejlj8/AAB2B5s56CNkcEdOduu8hlO8a?dl=0
Link to media kit - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j7qfsnbz4djwwiv/AABQafS8xShbzRjhelI71qxqa?dl=0
Media Contact:
Leslie Komet Ausburn, 210-326-8992
[email protected]
About Vicinia
Vicinia is a 97-acre mixed-use development that prioritizes a multi-modal transportation platform to redefine how people live, work, and play. The time-saving, transit-oriented community will create a walkable, bikeable, and drivable neighborhood that is also connected to mass transit and offers affordable and market-rate housing, senior housing, retail, office, and community facilities.
SOURCE Vicinia
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