SAN ANTONIO – It’s no secret that the old Lone Star Brewery has seen its share of failed attempts to redevelop the decades-old site, but a new development group hopes to change that.
“It’s kind of the elephant in the room a little bit that we are the fourth sort of development group to come along,” said Peter French, director of development at GrayStreet Partners.
GrayStreet, a local investment group, has teamed up with Houston-based developer Midway, to tackle their vision for the 32-acre area that sits across of Roosevelt Park south of Downtown. The site will be known as the Lone Star District.
The brewery site has sat abandoned since operations stopped in 1996. Since then, several other developers have tried to breathe new life into the area.
But this time it’s different, French said. Partly, because the area has seen growth and success with other developments.
“The market has changed dramatically over the past decade. You think about the river extension and the growth in Southtown, not just of the art scene, but of the other multifamily projects and actually the growth of all of San Antonio,” French said.
Phase one of the multi-phased project will focus on 12 acres to include shops, restaurants, bars, residential and office space.
“In addition to that, there’ll be a park along the river and then we’re working with the city on the planning for the bond improvements for Lone Star Boulevard to make sure that’s designed appropriately and really transformed from what it is right now into a street with great pedestrian and bike facilities and trees,” he said.
French said the project will include arts since it is located within Southtown’s eclectic art scene. The design also calls for the brewhouse and other recognizable structures to be salvaged.
Another push from the developers is collecting pictures and stories from people who visited the brewery decades ago or had family members who worked there.
“We’re going to be having events where we help people sort of collect this memorabilia so that we can share it with everybody,” French said.
If you have pictures or stories you’d like to share, you can email it to history@lonestardistrictsa.com.
“That’s going to be an important part of how we keep sort of the history of the site alive,” he said.
The goal is to break ground this year. Phase one is expected to be completed in 2025. The entire district is expected to be developed over a decade.
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