San Antonio has a strong tradition of remarkable ingenuity, creativity, and civic spirit in developing parks and public spaces, and of investing significantly in park infrastructure. From the late-Victorian era Brackenridge Park to our innovative greenway trail system, to a quirky hot springs spa just south of downtown – each park claims its place in our story. Our most famous linear park, the San Antonio River Walk, originated as a bold stroke of imagination to turn a depression-era civic drainage project into a unique public realm. Under co-direction of the River Oversight Committee by partner Irby Hightower, a major, multi-agency capital investment in the River Walk completed extensions to the north and south of the central tourism hub in 2010. The Museum Reach and Mission Reach trails along the restored riverbanks, dotted with public art, are community assets locals now cannot imagine life without.
Parks and complete street strategies improve our quality of life, fostering resilient neighborhoods. From an urban planning perspective, parks also intersect with economic development, benefiting the health of the park and its surrounding neighborhood at the same time. A prime example of this strategy is the new Civic Park at Hemisfair, for which we provided urban planning guidance, connecting interests in the public and private sectors. Based in our decades of experience with projects of impactful civic scope, we welcome new park planning projects – finding avenues of opportunity to shape the physical, social, environmental, and economic well-being of people and communities. Our planners, placemakers and architects together bring broad knowledge and perspective to the complex, inclusive process of master planning for parks and public spaces.
In 2014, we teamed with a valued partner, GGN for the design of Civic Park conceived by HPARC as San Antonio’s “front porch.” An early design goal for the park was to break out of its boundary and create a park district, with buildings that feel as if they are in the park, rather than delineating where the park stops. We worked with GGN on development diagrams, code studies, and feasibility studies to make that goal a reality, eventually codifiying that work in an Urban Design Manual, to assist developers in understanding the myriad zoning and design overlays in this part of town. That manual gave HPARC a tool for negotiating Public Private Partnerships (P3) deals that would enable the community’s vision of San Antonio’s new front porch.
Debuting at San Antonio Botanical Garden in December 2023, the WaterSaver Community demonstrates diverse examples of sustainable landscape design – how to make over your front yard to look great, use less water, and be drought resilient into the bargain. The exhibit is a collection of five “garden follies” representing local housing styles, making the exhibit easily relatable to local visitors: from pre-war bungalows to mid-century ranchers to Hill Country farmhouse-style homes.
Brackenridge Park is San Antonio’s back yard. It’s the place family and friends gather for picnics, holidays, and traditions unique to the city like Easter camping. The park contains three institutions, the San Antonio Zoo, the Witte Natural History Museum, and the historic Brackenridge Golf Course. Any change to the park can have unintended consequences that can challenge long held traditions, damage cultural resources, or adversely affect the ecosystem. Like a backyard, Brackenridge Park is behind the buildings around it and has limited access to surrounding streets and neighborhoods. Conceived as a beautiful place for an evening ride on horseback or in a carriage, our work as a member of the master plan team concentrated on ways of connecting the park to the city, restoring a system of pathways that connect the park north to south along the river, and creating a park district encompassing other cultural institutions near Brackenridge.
In the late 1990s, a multi-governmental group of City, County, and federal agencies combined to develop two San Antonio River Walk Expansions, north and south of the original downtown commercial zone. The San Antonio River Oversight Committee, co-chaired by Irby Hightower, FAIA and Mayor Emeritus Lila Cockrell, was formed to guide the engineering and design team of this complex, multi-decade civic undertaking through a labyrinth of government agencies and stakeholder groups. This once-in-a-lifetime leadership opportunity for Irby has given our firm the benefit of his central experience with these landmark projects. Notably, the success of the River Walk Expansions has afforded the City of San Antonio greater mandate to embark on significant municipal amenity projects, such as the continuing expansion of the Howard w. Peak Greenway System, and the creation of Civic Park at Hemisfair.
1512 South Flores St.
San Antonio, TX 78204
210.227.2612