San Antonio residents, some on City Council push back on ballpark proposal

The San Antonio Missions' plans for a new $160 million ballpark and entertainment district picked up serious headwinds during a tense and, at times, rowdy City Council hearing Thursday afternoon.

The project, which includes the construction of a 7,500-capacity ballpark along with commercial, entertainment space and a new residential tower, was first presented to council in Aug. 14 by the Missions' ownership council,  months after leaks about the project began circulating in the media.

Although the council's first session on project received an overwhelmingly positive response from the majority on the dais, Thursday's specially called meeting had a far different tone. Several members of council previously quiet about concerns over the development joined neighborhood groups in saying they were concerned about displacement of low-income residents.

The majority of the discussion centered around the proposed demolition of the primarily low-income Soap Factory Apartments to make way for the sports facility and surrounding development.

"Shame on you," Esperanza Peace and Justice Center Director Graciela Sanchez told council members during the meeting's comment session. "This project is all about the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer … and they will be displaced, and it won't just affect the Soap Factory Apartment dwellers, but it will affect everything close to the inner city, including the historic West Side community."

Sanchez was one of at least a dozen residents that spoke out against the proposed demolition of the Soap Factory Apartments.

As part of the proposal, the Soap Factory Apartments, where rents start as low as $667 monthly, would be demolished in two phases. Some residents affected by Phase I of the project will have the option to relocate to other existing Soap Factory Apartment units. However, only 145 units are being reserved for displaced residents.

Randy Smith, a board member of the Missions' baseball team and CEO of San Antonio real estate development firm Weston Urban — the same company that owns the land where the sports district will be built, including the Soap Factory Apartments — told council that reserving 145 units was appropriate since only 40% of apartment residents have renewed their lease since Weston Urban bought the property a year ago.

However, that low renewal rate could be because Weston Urban hasn't failed to conduct routine maintenance since purchasing the property, resident Jimmy Arriaga during an interview with the Current earlier this month.

District 2 City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, an early skeptic of the plan, said he remains concerned about the displaced residents.

"No one should feel tricked out of their housing by the end of this," McKee-Rodriguez told Smith. "There are a lot of ways that this [project] can set us back and harm hundreds of people in the process, and that may be too much risk to place in the hopes of what a stadium can do when we have very little evidence that these positive outcomes are coming, especially with Wolff Stadium, the Alamodome and Frost Bank Center never fulfilling the promises that a stadium or arena should."

McKee-Rodriguez's concerns were echoed by District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia and District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez. Both Rocha Garcia and Pelaez are running for mayor.

"These are not unreasonable requests that we be mindful where and how we treat the people that are already living there, that we talk about the future folks that are going to be living there, and making sure that this is accessible to food workers and hotel workers and people who are earning way below the poverty line," Pelaez said. "They deserve to also be a part of the downtown eco-system."

Despite that opposition, termed-out mayor Ron Nirneberg remained adamant that the developer's proposal is solid, adding that the north-of-downtown area around the proposed ballpark needs development.

"The idea that somehow improving these properties is a bad thing I take issue with," Nirenberg said. "We do need improvements, we need public amenities, we need opportunities for people to engage with their downtown."

Nirenberg also took issue with the labeling the Soap Factory Apartments "low-income housing," even though Smith told the council that the average salary for residents is about $40,000 — several thousand dollars below San Antonio's median income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Nirenberg's unflinching support could stem from concern that the Missions could lose their MLB affiliation if a deal doesn't come together. In a letter to the team's ownership this year, MLB officials warned that the franchise would lose its minor-league status if a new stadium plan isn't finalized by Opening Day 2025.

Even so, the majority of council members now appear to want significant concessions before such a plan can move forward.

Council is set to vote on whether to authorize the project's first phase on Sept. 5. However, that's subject to change if enough council members ask to push the voting date back — something proposed by McKee-Rodriguez during Thursday's hearing.

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