As we've written here before, Southtown is one of the many pockets of San Antonio that's on the cusp of, in city planner lingo, "transformational" change. Mostly, that's because of changes on the horizon for the iconic Lone Star Brewery, a hulking 60-acre property that's sat lifeless on the edge of Southtown ever since the brewery moved its operations to East Texas in the mid-1990s.
Earlier this month we got a reminder of both how serious the redevelopment plans are for the long neglected property and just how much those plans could change the surrounding neighborhood when development partners Aqualand and CBL & Associates announced their first Lone Star tenants – national chains Cinemark and Punch Bowl Social, a 10 auditorium theater complex and a 25,000 square foot restaurant/bowling alley/arcade. As we wrote, the early plans spooked some Southtowners, who worry their neighborhood – one that relishes in local bars, restaurants, art galleries – will soon look like Alamo Quarry.
Aqualand president Adam Schneider and CBL senior director of development Jennifer Greer walked us through the complex this week and gave us another hint of what could soon happen at Lone Star. They say they want to use as much of the old brewery as possible, rehabbing and incorporating at least 95 percent of the complex's old buildings and structures. They also say they'll soon be ready to announce a number of local and regional restaurants and other businesses as Lone Star's next tenants – names, they promise, that San Antonians know well.
The developers plan to break ground on the property by next summer, and, if they can stick to their ambitious timeline, open up the first phase (basically, the whole north end of the brewery complex) by the fall of 2018. In the meantime, take a look at Lone Star as it sits now – before it all changes.
Photos by Michael Barajas
