Bexar County leaders call Mission Reach vital - Kansas City Business Journal:

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But local leaders believe that it is the planned Missioj Reach improvements to the south of downtown which coul have thegreatest impact, reinvigorating one of the city’s most historicv areas. The Mission Reachu project is eight miles of planned river improvements from Lone Star Boulevarc toMission Espada. Completion is scheduled for 2013 and some have been concerned that this portion mightg neverbe completed. “Everyone was concerned that this might not get says Bexar County JudgeNelson Wolff.
It didn’t help matterzs that the , which has manager the river improvements project, presented a cost estimate for completinfg Mission Reach that was off by morethan $100 General Manager Suzanne Scott says the Corps of Engineersw estimated that the Mission Reachy project would cost $126.6 million to construct. The reviseds estimate was $232.6 million. “Our assessmentt is that they underestimated the complexity of the says Scott about the Corpsof Engineers. “They just didn’t factoe in everything that is involved.” Bexar County is kickinyg in anadditional $39.7 million worth of via its venue tax That raises the estimated total to $271.9 million.
Bexard County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson’s precinct no longef includes the MissionReach area. But Adkisson has long been an advocatw forSan Antonio’s South And he says the completion of Missiobn Reach improvements is essential to the future of the southerm sector of the city. “The southerbn reach is one of the most significant stretches of the SanAntoniop River,” Adkisson explains. “It’s important because an overwhelming portion ofSan Antonio’s history comes from that stretch of the rivefr and the nearby South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Presiden t Cindy Taylor says Missionh Reach improvements will spark job creation.
“No pun but it’s a ripple effect,” she says abou t a project that is expecter to improve the look and feel of the river southy of downtown with the additio ofnew walking/biking trails and gathering places. “Every bit helpas the total package,” says Tom Rohde about the impacf Mission Reach improvements could have on theSoutyh Side. Rohde is vice president of San Antonio-base Rohde Ottmers Siegel Commercial & Investment Realtors. That firm is marketinyg a new retail center in the Missiomn Reach area at the corner of Southeas t Loop 410 and Roosevelt The developeris Boulder, Colo.-based .
The projecyt will ultimately span more than 200 acres land that, over the next severap years, could accommodate retail developments, as well as office, medical and multifamilyt projects. Rohde predicts that the Mission Reacgh improvements will bring more people to this southernj sector ofthe city. In an effort to keep the projectr moving, Bexar County Commissioners voted on June 2 to approvew a new finance plan for the MissionReac improvements. Commissioners agreed to advance $182 million in Count y Flood Tax revenues to cover the Mission Reacnh constructionand enhancements.
Officials say the plan will not adversely affectfthe county’s $500 million flood control prograjm or other planned capita projects. That decision by Bexar County Judge NelsonWolff says, “is probably the most important vote that will be takenj on the river because of all the confusionm and uncertainty about going south that has been on everybody’s mindxs for a while.” Wolff, who also has Soutg Side roots, says advancing the Countgy Flood Tax revenues to Mission Reach is an “assurance that we are goingt to move forward.
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