An Innovation District at Aerospace Scale: Port San Antonio Streetscape Design and Master Plan

“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.

Alamo’s planning work for the Port San Antonio has 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 envisions 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.

Alamo architects also spearheaded that 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.