SAN ANTONIO – Rather than risk his grandfather’s old print shop becoming an eyesore, former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros is involved in a $1.7 million effort to renovate the building, and what was a medical clinic next door, into an office space complex and research library not far from where he grew up and still lives.
Cisneros said he didn’t want to see “the family building become a blight on this community” or “a symbol of the deterioration of the West Side.”
“Didn’t want that to happen,” he said.
Cisneros and business partner Victor Miramontes are moving their investment firm to the Munguia Building in the 2200 block of Buena Vista.
Miramontes said doing so “is a celebratory homecoming that pays tribute to the many people and generations that came before us and paved the way to our success.”
Cisneros' maternal grandfather, Romulo Munguia, built the print shop in 1949, eventually becoming one of the city’s largest.
When completed, the first floor of what will be known as “The Shop,” will house Cisneros Miramontes, LLC. The second floor will become a research library for community leaders, students and others interested in economics, government policy and more. It will be named after his parents, George and Elvira Cisneros. The rest of the complex will have office space for nonprofit educational groups and others.
A spokeswoman said the renovations on the print shop will be completed by the end of the year, and the adjacent building will be finished the middle of next year.
“This is a commitment not just to the building or the family legacy here, but to what we can do over the years, contributing to the development of the one place on the compass that hasn’t developed,” Cisneros said.
Instead of development that would crowd out West Side residents and businesses, Cisneros said, “I think it’s possible to thread the needle and have more investment in one of the poorest parts of the city.”
Cisneros said regardless, the West Side deserves “fair development, reasonable development, just development.”
If his grandfather were here to see what’s now underway, Cisneros said, “I think my grandfather would be very happy.”