SAN ANTONIO – An old car dealership near downtown San Antonio is transforming into an entertainment district, joining areas like the Pearl and Southtown.
Make Ready will utilize the seemingly unused area on the lower Broadway corridor to bring new economic stimulus.
“I think it’s going to be potentially a transformational agenda for this area,” said OrderUp restaurant owner David Galbreath.
Galbreath is set to be one of the new tenants here at Make Ready.
“Within Make Ready the Building, it’s a food-focused concept. And so, we’ve got 10 different vendors coming in here,” said Hunter Kingman, Hixon Properties Vice President of Acquisitions and Development.
However, the area is much more than food.
“We just want to make a community, you know, community around us, community around what’s already been here and just kind of partnering up with everybody and bringing people to this area and showing how beautiful it really is,” said Jessica Parr, Idle Brewery General Manager.
The new brewery is also another big element of the space. But Parr said the new location is not intended to be a competition with The Pearl.
“We are our own thing, but it’s another option. We don’t have too many options here in this area in general. And so having another option is so important,” Parr said.
There is already a good amount of foot traffic, construction is still underway, and this new complex gives a nod to the history of the area.
“As part of the Cadillac dealership to the Cavendar Zone, this is where they took the cars right before handing them back to their customers. And so, they’re making them ready to deliver back. And so it had a garage door there and a garage door there. They drove them through and then took them back to the showroom building,” Kingman said.
And of course with the new businesses, jobs, and entertainment areas here on lower Broadway – the goal is for this foot traffic to translate to more opportunity.
“Obviously, that creates a lot of ad valorem tax appreciation and also sales tax for the city. And so you’re creating jobs, and you create that virtuous cycle of job creation activity. And the more people you get in a place, the better it is for the overall vibrancy,” Kingman said.
As for Parr and Galbreath, they are anxiously waiting to open their doors.
“Walls are going up, and we’ll be, we’ll be ready to go this fall. There’s not a definite opening date yet. But hopefully, October-ish, everybody will be ready to go,” Galbreath said.
You can find more information about the projects here.