2026 ASLA Professional Awards | The American Society of Landscape Architects selected Civic Park at Hemisfair for a prestigious Honor Award in General Design.
Civic Park at Hemisfair, San Antonio’s new “front porch,” is transforming the city’s relationship to the legacy Hemisfair acreage in its urban center. The park opens new outdoor programming opportunities by adding to the City’s repertoire of unique public spaces by creating an accessible, relatable public square. We are proud of this successful collaboration with Seattle landscape architects GGN, and of our own leadership in establishing an economic support framework for the park through public-private partnership (P3) development guidelines.
As part of the reconfiguration and redevelopment of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, buildings west of the river extension were demolished. The move opened an area of more than 13 acres for redevelopment. Continuing the work of determining the best present-day use for the 1968 World’s Fair Park, the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC) identified this zone for Civic Park. Acting on the once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop a prime amenity in the heart of downtown, HPARC engaged Alamo Architects and Gustafson, Guthrie, Nichols (GGN), Seattle, to lead design of the park, and to create a development framework around it.
The project is sited at a critical interface of the future LEED ND (‘Neighborhood Development’) Hemisfair District and greater downtown San Antonio. Civic Park will serve as the focal point of dramatic change in the City’s downtown tourism district. The Park, dedicated in 2023, offers moments of formal elegance alongside slip-your-shoes-off informality. Its unique storytelling character borrows from centuries-deep culture and regional landscape. The Great Lawn, a significant new outdoor venue, is now home to JazzS’Alive, our fall jazz festival. Together with adjacent Yanaguana Gardens and development around The ’68, Civic Park is now an attractive destination for families and friends to spend relaxed time together.
Services | Urban Design Guidelines, Architecture (Amenities Building)
Team Lead | GGN Landscape Architects, Seattle
Footprint | 8.1 acres within Hemisfair, San Antonio
Client | City of San Antonio – Public Works Department (PWD) and The Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC)
Phased Openings: 2023, 2025
Bringing this project to life brought together a multifaceted team of collaborators, who helped imagine, build, and continue to support the life of this important new place in the heart of our downtown.
GGN, Project Lead and Landscape Architect
Alamo Architects, Architect – @alamo_architects
Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Civil Engineer – @mka_inc
Rialto Studios, Local Landscape Architect @rialtostudio
Jeffrey Bruce & Company, Turf and Soil Engineering – @jbclandscapearchitects
CMS Collaborative, Fountain Design – @cms_collaborative
Tillett Lighting, Lighting Design – @tillett_lighting_design
Intelligent Engineering Services, Structural Engineer – @intelligentengineeringservices
CNG Engineering, MEP – @cngengineering
Drew Collaborative Works, Cost Estimating
Skanska, General Contractor – @skanskausa
Shadrock & Williams, Masonry Contractor – @shadrockwilliams
Toole Design Group, Traffic Engineer – @tooledesigngroup
ETM Associates, Operations & Maintenance
Theater DNA, Theater Design – @theatredna
Ximenes & Associates, Public Outreach
2025 | Engineering News-Record Best Projects Award
Civic Park at Hemisfair
Best Landscape/Urban Development category for Texas & Louisiana Region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas). Skanska, General Contractor.
