This summer, Urban Land is profiling online and in print each finalist for 2020’s ULI Urban Open Space Award. The winner(s) will be announced in the fall. Learn more about award-winning and innovative open-space projects as part of the 2020 ULI Virtual Fall Meeting.
Owners: Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation, City of San AntonioDesigner: MIG Inc.Additional team members: Joeris General Contractors, HDR Inc., Bender Wells Clark Design, CNG Engineering, Duende Design Architects, Intelligent Engineering Services, Oscar Alvarado, City of San Antonio Public Works, Ximenes & Associates, Overland PartnersSize: 4 acres (1.6 ha)Opened: October 2015Total cost: $9.47 million (excluding land acquisition)
Named for the river of “refreshing waters” along which the Payaya tribe built its seasonal villages, Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair is a community gathering place in the heart of downtown San Antonio. It is the first implementation phase of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Master Plan and has hosted 2.7 million visitors since opening in October 2015.
Located on the former 1968 World’s Fair site, Yanaguana Garden treats visitors to rich and diverse experiences informed and inspired by the history, environment, and constantly evolving arts and culture of San Antonio. A trellis-covered central promenade connects a series of flexible outdoor spaces that accommodate and encourage a variety of programmed and impromptu activities from morning to night.
A key design goal was to highlight “play” as a universal language and create an equitable space that would welcome, engage, and challenge all children, families, and individuals—regardless of cultural heritage, socioeconomic status, age, or physical ability. As an economic catalyst, Yanaguana Garden contributed to a 182 percent increase in median property tax revenue in the surrounding census tracts from 2013 to 2017, compared with 8 percent for Bexar County as a whole.
