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Graciela Sanchez

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center breaks ground on West Side museum

March 30, 2022 By Ben Olivo 61 Comments

Graciela Sanchez, director of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Museo del Westside takes place on the morning of Tuesday, March, 29, 2022, at the Rinconcito de Esperanza, 816 S. Colorado St., San Antonio, TX, on the city's West Side.

After more than 10 years of planning, the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is a year away from completing its Museo del Westside, a community space dedicated to West Side history and culture inside the old Ruben’s Ice House.

Filed Under: Historic Preservation, Museums, Neighborhoods, West Side Tagged With: Blanca "Blanquita Rosa" Rodríguez, Casa de Cuentos, David Gonzales, Esmeralda Reyes Rocha, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Graciela Sanchez, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Henry Gomez, Houck Foundation, Impact San Antonio, Irma Reyes Guevara, Las Tesoros de San Antonio, M&E Grocery Store, Manuel Reyes Jr., Mariachi Esperanza, MujerArtes, Museo del Westside, National Endowment for the Humanities, Patricia Reyes Zepeda, Rinconcito de Esperanza, Ruben's Ice House, San Antonio Area Foundation, Teri Castillo, West Side, Westside TIRZ

Housing bond meeting gets heated as members debate how best to serve San Antonio’s 95K vulnerable households

November 19, 2021 By Ben Olivo 48 Comments

The 2022-2027 housing bond committee met Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, for the second time.

Calls for spending all $150 million in potential housing bond dollars on San Antonio’s most vulnerable populations permeated the housing bond committee’s second meeting held Wednesday night at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

Filed Under: 2022-2027 bond, City of San Antonio, Housing, Neighborhoods Tagged With: 2022-2027 bond, 2027-2032 bond, Alamo Community Group, Alazan Courts, Alazán-Apache Courts, Art Reinhardt, Brett Finley, Celine Williams, City Council, East Meadows, Ed Hinojosa Jr., Erik Walsh, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Graciela Sanchez, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Housing Policy Framework, Jennifer Gonzalez, Jose Gonzales II, Katie Vela, Kayla Miranda, Leilah Powell, Linda Ortega, LISC San Antonio, Lori Houston, Mia Loseff, My City is My Home, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, NHSD, Rebecca Flores, Rich Acosta, SA: Ready to Work program, SAHA, San Antonio Board of Realtors, San Antonio Housing Authority, SARAH, Shirley Gonzales, SHP, South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless, SouthStar Communities, Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, Texas Housers, Thad Rutherford, University of Texas at Austin School of Law, Veronica Soto, Wheatley Courts, WSP USA

Alazan Courts on West Side could get $75M for redevelopment—if San Antonio voters approve

October 11, 2021 By Ben Olivo 1 Comment

Drone shot taken July 30, 2021, shows the Alazan Courts in the foreground and the downtown San Antonio skyline in the background.

The San Antonio Housing Authority is requesting $75 million for the Alazan Courts from the upcoming 2022-2027 bond program, which San Antonio voters will be asked to approve in May.

Filed Under: 2022-2027 bond, Alazan-Apache Courts, City of San Antonio, Development, Historic Preservation, Housing, Neighborhoods, San Antonio Housing Authority, West Side Tagged With: Able City, Alazan Courts, City Council, David Nisivoccia, Ed Hinojosa Jr., Erik Walsh, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Graciela Sanchez, President Biden, President Clinton, President Obama, Ron Nirenberg, SAHA, Saldaña & Associates, San Antonio Housing Authority, Westside Preservation Alliance

‘Laredito’ brothel, orphanage in west downtown San Antonio closer to landmark status

September 15, 2021 By Richard Webner 8 Comments

The Dashiell House, 503 Urban Loop, could be designated a local landmark.

The 1883 Dashiell House, once a brothel in San Antonio’s red-light district before serving as a nursery, is now eligible to become a designated landmark—against the will of its owner.

Filed Under: Historic and Design Review Commission, Historic Preservation, West Downtown Tagged With: Aurelia Dashiell House, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, Boys Town, Brown & Ortiz, Butch Cassidy, Carmelite Sisters, Conservation Society of San Antonio, Dashiell House, Douglas Miller, DPMiller Investments LLC, Dwight Eisenhower, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Fannie Porter, Fort Sam Houston, Graciela Sanchez, HDRC, Historic and Design Review Commission, James McKnight, Laredito, Office of Historic Preservation, OHP, red-light district, Rev. J.W. Shaw, San Pedro Creek Culture Park, Scott Carpenter, Vincent Michael, Westside Preservation Alliance

Massive $250M housing bond proposed for election next May

September 7, 2021 By Ben Olivo 3 Comments

West Side San Antonio drone shot.

Next May, for the first time, San Antonio voters will be asked to approve a $250 million housing bond toward affordability initiatives.

Filed Under: 2022-2027 bond, City of San Antonio, Housing Tagged With: 2022-2027 bond, AMI, area median income, City Council, City of San Antonio, David Nisivoccia, Economic & Planning Systems, Ed Hinojosa, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Graciela Sanchez, Housing Commission, Housing Policy Framework, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, Jessica O. Guerrero, Mayor's Housing Policy Task Force, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, NHSD, Ron Nirenberg, SAHA, San Antonio, San Antonio Housing Authority, SHIP, Shirley Gonzales, Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, Teri Castillo, Vero Soto

Lim family pursuing Whitt Printing Co. building demolition in west downtown San Antonio despite commission denial

May 28, 2021 By Richard Webner 15 Comments

The family that owns the Golden Star Café in west downtown is taking the unusual step of asking the city to strip a building of its historic designation after the Historic and Design Review Commission denied a bid to demolish it earlier this month.

Filed Under: Architecture, Development, Historic Preservation, West Downtown, West Side Tagged With: Antonia Castaneda, Cattleman Square Historic District, Conservation Society of San Antonio, David Adelman, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Gilberto Whitt, Golden Star Café, Graciela Sanchez, HDRC, Historic and Design Review Commission, Leticia Sanchez, Lim family, Office of Historic Preservation, Patrick Christensen, Patti Zaiontz, Shanon Shea Miller, Shirley Gonzales, Tier One Neighborhood Coalition, Tony Garcia, Univision, Westside Preservation Alliance, Whitt Printing Co., Whitt Printing Co. building, Zoning Commission

Developer Adelman asks to demolish old Cattleman’s Square Tavern for 122-unit apartment building

May 18, 2021 By Richard Webner 60 Comments

The Rich Book building, 900 W. Houston St., was most recently the home of Cattleman Square Tavern on the ground level, and apartments up top.

Developer David Adelman plans to build in west downtown for the first time with a 122-unit apartment building at Cattleman Square.

Filed Under: Commerce Street, Development, Historic Preservation, Housing, West Downtown, West Side Tagged With: AVANCE San Antonio, Barclay Anthony, Cattleman Square Historic District, Cattleman's Square Tavern, Centro Plaza, David Adelman, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Frio Street, Golden Star, Graciela Sanchez, HDRC, Historic and Design Review Commission, Lim family, Maverick building, Midtown Station, Rich Book building, Santa Monica Hotel, The '68, University of Texas at San Antonio, UTSA, VIA Metropolitan Transit, Whitt Printing Co. building

Request to demolish historic building next to Golden Star Café denied

May 6, 2021 By Richard Webner 51 Comments

The city’s Historic and Design Review Commission on Wednesday voted down a request to demolish a historic building next to the Golden Star Café in west downtown to clear the way for potential development.

Filed Under: Development, West Downtown, West Side Tagged With: Alamo Community Group, Bexar Appraisal District, Cattleman Square Historic District, Cattleman Square Lofts, Conservation Society of San Antonio, District 5, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Gabriel Q. Velasquez, Golden Star Café, Graciela Sanchez, HDRC, Historic and Design Review Commission, Lim family, Patti Zaiontz, Rudy Lopez, Scobey complex, Scott W. Carpenter, Shirley Gonzales, Teri Castillo, Texstar National Bank, University of Texas at San Antonio, UTSA, VIA Metropolitan Transit, West Side Residents Association, Weston Urban, Whitt Printing Co. building, Yuen King Lim Family LLC

Esperanza center plans rehab of ‘casitas’ to preserve old-style West Side housing

March 4, 2021 By Richard Webner 4 Comments

The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center plans to rehabilitate a cluster of seven little homes at its Rinconcito de Esperanza arts hub 816 S. Colorado St.

The Rinconcito de Esperanza cultural hub has received $1.5 million from the city to rehab seven historic homes into a community health center, an internet access point and a studio for recording oral histories.

Filed Under: Development, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods, West Side Tagged With: Alazan Courts, Casa de Cuentos, Ed Hinojosa Jr., Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Graciela Sanchez, Legacy at Alazán, MujerArtes Studio, Museo del Westside, NRP Group, Rinconcito de Esperanza, Ruben's Ice House, SAHA, San Antonio Housing Authority, Trinity University, West Side, Westside TIRZ

West Side poised to receive first historic district designation

June 12, 2020 By Carson Bolding 43 Comments

Rinconcito de Esperanza community center on the West Side.

The Esperanza Peace & Justice Center has initiated the creation of a historic district on the West Side.

Filed Under: Historic Preservation, West Side Tagged With: Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Graciela Sanchez, Museo del Westside, Rinconcito de Esperanza, Sarah Gould

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Deep Dives

How municipal bonds work, and a brief history of them in San Antonio

San Antonio Downtown drone shot.

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