As shown in the site plan below, our current work with Port San Antonio is focused on the transformation of three major streets into multi-modal streets that support the collaborative environments important to innovation districts.
From venerated air base to tech innovation district: Since 2010, Port San Antonio has radically transformed the WWII-era Kelly AFB into an urban innovation district, home to several aerospace, cyber-security, robotics, and tech companies. Throughout this transformation, Alamo Architects has worked with Port San Antonio to anticipate future needs through master planning, urban design, streetscape design, and placemaking efforts.
“At the very core of an innovation district are the entrepreneurs and creative minds who bring it to life every day,” notes Trent Tunks, urban designer at Alamo Architects. “The Port San Antonio we have helped plan is one where architecture, public spaces, and placemaking opportunities lead to serendipitous connections that foster collaboration between its workers.”
Alamo Architects has assisted Port San Antonio and campus clients since 2010 in its ongoing transformation from a military base to an aerospace, cyber-security, tech, and innovation district. Our work includes planning, building re-use assessments, sustainability consultation, streetscape design, and placemaking efforts. We have also designed the Compass Rose Academy at the Port.
In our planning work for the Port San Antonio, we have strived to create well-connected public spaces that are in alignment with the vision of the district as a workplace for future innovators and entrepreneurs. We have developed future land-use studies and a master plan for Port San Antonio that envision how building development can help craft tailored public spaces where individuals from diverse backgrounds and fields may purposefully be brought together to better encourage collaboration and innovation.
In a key initiative of the master plan, we spearheaded the transformation of three major car-centric streets within Port San Antonio into multi-modal complete streets that support the connectivity and the collaborative environments important to innovation districts. The streetscape designs we developed for Billy Mitchell Blvd, General McMullen Drive, and General Hudnell Drive are pedestrian-oriented and cyclist-friendly – streets that allow for enhanced connectivity throughout the entirety of the district.
Key members of our team are also founding members of ActivateSA, a nonprofit transportation advocacy organization that was instrumental in the planning of the Portlink Trail: a critical connection needed to complete San Antonio’s Howard Peak Greenway System. ActivateSA’s planning and advocacy efforts were instrumental in securing design funding for the Portlink Trail through the 2022 City of San Antonio Bond.
Client | Port San Antonio
Services | Urban Design, Master Planning, Architecture
Footprint | 1,900 acres
Completion | Initiated 2020, project engagement is ongoing
Landscape Architect | dwg. Landscape Architecture, Austin
Civil Engineering | Pape-Dawson
