Shout out to Maggie Ryan, our @studentsstartups intern who absolutely killed it this summer reporting on and researching housing in San Antonio. She’s an S.A. native pursuing a bachelor’s of arts in English Language and Literature/Letters at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Look for her last two pieces later this week. Today, she writes about the Housing Commission adopting a definition of affordable housing, and why it’s important. Tap the link in our bio to read it. 📸 by Chris Stokes | @_chrisstokes_ | Heron contributor #sanantonio #saheron

Years of sun damage and graffiti have brought about the latest restoration of the mural "Comprando y Prestando," which illustrates two Native American tribes trading goods on the corner of Guadalupe and South San Jacinto streets on the West Side. In 1996, Mary Helen Herrera was commissioned to create the original painting by San Anto Cultural Arts, a West Side nonprofit that mentors youth interested in art and journalism. A poem Herrera wrote above the friendly exchange reads: “This is the day of our people. Sharing talents, food & land. Giving to your neighbor, friends & family. A word of wisdom if you can let us live in harmony again.” San Anto Cultural Arts, founded in 1993, has coordinated the painting of 60 murals across the city—many of them on the West Side. Tap the link in our bio to read more about the artists and volunteers who helped restore this small piece of the West Side. 📸 by Chris Stokes | @_chrisstokes_ | Heron contributor 📸 original mural photo by @saca_mural_art 📝 by Jose T. Garza III | Heron contributor #saheron #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #westside

More details have emerged regarding Weston Urban’s $80 million, mixed-use development bound by West Commerce, South Laredo, Dolorosa and San Pedro Creek in west downtown. The project will refurbish the former Continental Hotel (which faces West Commerce) and the Arana building (Dolorosa). Between them is a large parking lot where the developer plans to build a 15-story, 255-unit apartment building, which will also include a parking garage for 342 vehicles. The Melchio de la Garza House, a small single historic structure, will remain on the property facing South Laredo, while the O’Henry House, another structure of the same stature, will be moved to an undetermined location. Weston Urban is seeking conceptual approval for the plans this Wednesday before the Historic and Design Review Commission. Tap the link in our bio for more info and renderings. 📝 by Ben Olivo | Heron editor 📸 @bkv_group #saheron #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #downtownsa #dtsa #downtownsanantonio

Since 2016, the City of San Antonio has allotted $26.5 million to repair or rebuilt 215 homes of struggling San Antonians, $20.6 million contributed by the federal government. Expanding on the equity lens concept the city first adopted in 2017, the home repair program is attempting to correct the inequities of the past. It’s intentionally targeting homes that were once deemed by the federal government as undesirable–a practice known as red lining. Many of these areas are becoming more attractive to investors, and programs like owner-occupied rehab and reconstruction help keep residents in place, the city says. In a recent interview, Mayor Ron Nirenberg described the rehabilitation of aging housing stock as the “biggest area of opportunity” as the city begins to shift millions more dollars toward solving what many describe as an affordable housing crisis, mostly, via San Antonio’s first major housing bond next year. But the program is not without its critics, who say the eligibility process can be cumbersome and that it could serve more homeowners if it were more efficient. Pictured: Lucille LeBlanc stands outside her Denver Heights home, which was recently renovated thanks to a city program. Tap the link in our bio for more info. 📸 by Chris Stokes | @_chrisstokes_ | Heron contributor 📝 by Emily Drisch | Heron contributor #saheron #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #eastside

Catching up on the historic preservation beat … Last month, plans for the restoration of the Leeds building, 345 W. Commerce St., were approved by the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC). Cory Stehr, a local developer who recently moved here from Los Angeles, and a partner are restoring the small retail building that sits kitty-corner from downtown Goodwill store on one end, and a block away from the San Pedro Creek Culture Park on the other. After purchasing the Leeds in February, the partners are spending $500,000 on the rehabilitation, Stehr told the Heron earlier this year. Tap the link in our bio for the complete story. 📝 Ben Olivo | @sanantonioheron editor 📸 Courtesy rendering #saheron #downtownsa #downtownsanantonio #downtownsananto #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #westside #westdowntown

We're in the final hours of our 2021 Birthday Campaign, and we need your help to meet our goal of $20,000 by midnight. We have a ways to go, with $8,098 raised, and your donation could be the one that ultimately gets us over the finish line! Our journalists provide a critical service that sparks real impact in the realm of downtown San Antonio, and your support makes it all possible. Will you join your fellow readers and invest in nonprofit news today? Double your impact. Support trusted journalism today. Give nonprofit. Give now. (Give at least $25, and we'll send you a Heron swag kit, which includes a comfy District Made shirt!) Tap the link in our bio to support our cause today. #satx #sanantonio #downtownsa #downtownsanantonio #centrosa #texas #saheron

Karen Killough, co-founder of Vista Brewing, doesn't believe their brewery is just about serving craft beer and wine, but rather about offering an experience she describes as an "escape from the city," feeling that derives from their original 21-acre ranch location in Driftwood. Their San Antonio location, which recently opened on the West Side, does just that. Vista Brewing recently opened its third location, this one inside Warehouse 5, a former industrial site that has been redeveloped into loft and office spaces at 1333 Buena Vista St., along Alazan Creek. Their second location is located in Beecave, Texas. The new brewery brings a tasting room and beer garden to the West Side. Draft options include pilsners, IPAs, blonde ales and a Kölsch. Local wine and ciders and nonalcoholic beverages are also available. Customers can try beer flights that come with four 4-ounce pours for $10. Individual beers are $5 to $7. Snacks that are offered come from local businesses and they plan to bring a rotating line up of food trucks for special events. "The experience customers will have will be special because it will be as if they're getting a piece of Driftwood here in their own backyard," Killough said, "and now they get a shorter drive to try our beers." Follow Vista Brewing @vistabrewingsatx. Vista Brewing is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday. 📸 📝 Rocky Garza Jr. | Heron contributor, @r0ckssss_ #satx #sanantonio #westside #centrosa #texas #saheron

The Texas Cavaliers River Parade was back Monday night after being canceled last year due to Covid-19. It was less packed than a normal year, but still thousands attended the annual Fiesta event. Here's some of the floats and Fiesta-goers we saw line the River Walk and the street bridges. 1) The scene at Arneson River Theatre. 7) The Gallegos family watches the parade from the Market Street bridge. 10) Adam Caskey takes a break from his duties as confetti cannon operator. 📸 Ben Olivo | Heron editor, @downtownsanantonio #fiestasa #fiesta2021 #vivafiesta #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #downtownsa #downtownsanantonio #saheron

Our gorgeous River Walk. 📸 Ben Olivo | Heron editor, @downtownsanantonio #fiestasa #fiesta2021 #vivafiesta #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #downtownsa #downtownsanantonio #saheron

BIG thank you to Dos Sirenos Brewery for hosting us for San Antonio Trivia Night last night, and to all the teams who came out! We had a great time playing trivia and drinking great beer. We’ll see you next time. #satx #sanantonio #southtown #centrosa #texas #downtownsa #downtownsanantonio #saheron

Fiesta's back! Here's some of who we saw at the opening Fiesta Fiesta event held Thursday at Hemisfair. 📸 @isaiah__alonzo | @sanantonioheron contributor 1) Fiesta royalty, from left to right, Fiesta Teenage Queen Sophia Christiansen, Queen of Soul Rebekah Wynn, Charro Queen Alexa Primera, Mr. Fiesta Michael Quintanilla, and Miss Fiesta San Antonio Calista Burns 2) John Watson-Nieto 3) Bea Orta 7) Rey Feo LXXII Thomas R. Aguillon greets Fiesta-goers #fiestasa #fiesta2021 #vivafiesta #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #downtownsa #downtownsanantonio #saheron

On Monday, 20 local residents spoke against a proposed project to rehabilitate the Friedrich Air Conditioning Co. site into an apartment complex, arguing that its rents wouldn’t fit the budgets of East Side residents and that it would speed up the area’s gentrification. It wasn’t enough: The five City Council members who lead the board of the San Antonio Housing Trust Public Facility Corp., or PFC, voted 3-1 to let the project go forward, with District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia abstaining. The Housing Trust PFC and its partner on the project, Dallas developer Provident Realty Advisors, plan to transform the derelict industrial site, which has sat vacant for 31 years, into 358 apartments, 155 of them reserved for those making up to 80% of the area median income (AMI), or $57,600 a year for a family of four—and 24 for those making up to 60%, or $43,200. But as is often the case with the PFC’s deals, it is up for debate whether the units will qualify as affordable housing. Incoming District 2 City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said he was "pretty disappointed" after the board's vote. Tap the link in our bio for more info. 📝 by Richard Webner | Heron contributor 📸 Heron file photo #saheron #satx #sanantonio #centrosa #texas #eastside