Brewery vs Reality

Alamo Brewery is getting closer to becoming a reality next to the historic Hays Street Bridge.  The owners of the Alamo Brewery recently submitted their final proposal for the brewery to the city.  Whether you're against the brewery or support it there is no question that this is huge for the Eastside, the city and especially for Dignowity Hill.  In 2010 when the Eastside Economic Summits were initiated, a list of "catalytic" projects was developed from input from Eastside stakeholders. The brewery was not on that list. Yet this project if it comes to fruition has enormous potential to actually change the landscape on the near Eastside and be a real catalyst for further economic development. So how can you not be in support of this project?

Hays Street Bridge

At the same time for those of us that live on the Eastside, we need to also be realistic that the brewery by itself is not going to be our saving grace for the many challenges that Eastside neighborhoods face. Many of our neighborhoods still need sidewalks, street repairs, improved drainage, better street lighting. Over the last 10 years the Eastside has seen a decline in population density as folks have move away to other neighborhoods in the city. Housing and education are big issues for the Eastside. If further investment is to occur on the Eastside then the neighborhoods along with basic infrastructure need to be improved for folks to want to either stay or move back to the Eastside and more importantly to bring further investment into the Eastside.

Despite the many challenges we face, I would not want to live anywhere else in San Antonio.  We all have a great opportunity before us to build our community and all us who have a stake in the Eastside need to do our part.