AGENDA - San Antonio Housing Authority

TRANSFORMATION PLANincreasing school retention and enhancingteens’ likelihood of graduation. GuadalupeStreet Coffee fosters continued learningand education, and is a comfortable spacewhere residents have taken ownership andmeet over a cup of coffee.Revitalization underway in the Choice Neighborhoodis a backdrop for development indowntown San Antonio. Also, it is an attemptto recapture the area’s history by encouragingsupport and regular use of anchor institutionsand neighborhood resources, therebycompleting the neighborhood.The Wheatley Choice Neighborhood is hometo several entertainment venues:• The Carver Community Cultural Centeris a thriving hub for educational, socialand cultural services on the Eastside ofSan Antonio, serving the African-Americancommunity and broader reaches ofPHOTO CREDIT: JENNIFER HERRERAThe Carver Community Cultural Center provideseducational, social, and cultural services for theEastside community and entire City.the San Antonio metropolitan area. TheCarver offers a variety of programs forchildren and adults. Jazz, Rhythm andBlues and quality artists are part of everyperformance season. It includes a publiclibrary and is a hub for social and culturalprograms on San Antonio’s Eastside.Plan Strategy: The Eastside ChoiceNeighborhood will work with the Carver todevelop programs for Wheatley children,exposing them to the vast arena of existingprograms and services.• The AT&T Center is an indoor arena, inEastside San Antonio. Home to the SpursNBA and Silver Stars WNBA teams, thearena is a venue for a wide range of gatherings,including concerts, religious andother performances, and sports events.The AT&T center borders the Wheatleycommunity along its eastern boundaryand generates customers for localbusinesses, as well providing a venue forentertainment activities.Plan Strategy: The AT&T Center will supportthe Choice Neighborhood Initiativeby hosting relevant programming andevents attractive to the revitalized community.• The Watson Fine Arts Center is part ofthe Fine Arts Department at St. PhilipsCollege. Divided into genres of art, music,dance and theatre, students with creativepursuits can display their talents. Thetheater can be leased by other performancegroups.Plan Strategy: St. Philips has committedto work with the Eastside Communityto increase the use of its facilities forcommunity-based entertainment events,and to mentor resident youth in arts andentertainment genres.Green SpacesThe two key findings to emerge regardinggreen spaces was that the study area didnot have an adequate amount of greenspace and that opportunities for connectingto the surrounding green and open spacenetwork were not being realized.It should be noted that with all greenspace strategies, microclimate appropriatelandscaping will be recommended. Thedesign promotes a healthy environment fornatural systems by incorporating the Level2 standards of the Build San Antonio Greenprogram. The standards include aggressivestrategies to conserve water, essential in SanAntonio’s arid climate. They also promoteprotecting existing trees and other significantvegetation, planting additional trees tofill gaps in the neighborhood tree canopy,EASTSIDE CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSFORMATION PLAN51