UTSA Downtown Campus

UTSA and city agree to land exchange

(April 16, 2004)--Officials at The University of Texas at San Antonio announced today that a land swap with the City of San Antonio has been finalized. The agreement allows UTSA to move ahead with expansion plans at the rapidly growing UTSA Downtown Campus.

"This is a win-win for UTSA and the city," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. "A future generation of UTSA students will be thankful to a number of groups and individuals who made this possible. UTSA now can plan for much-needed expansion to serve our students at the Downtown Campus."

UTSA's Downtown Campus enrolled its first students in 1997, and as a home to more than 6,000 students has grown nearly 50 percent in the last three years. "The Downtown Campus is vital to the educational and economic growth of our city," Romo added. UTSA's School of Architecture is now located at the Downtown Campus, where it resides mostly in leased space to accommodate its rapidly growing number of students and faculty.

As part of the agreement with the city, UTSA will take ownership of the nearby Cattleman's Square parking lot and the land on which the Business and Technology Center is located. The city will receive approximately 6 acres located next to HemisFair Park at the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC).

Additional parts of the agreement provide for continued use of city-owned parking facilities at ITC for staff and visitors. Also, accommodations will be made to conduct the annual Texas Folklife Festival and similar events at ITC that require the additional acreage. This year's Folklife Festival is scheduled for June 10-13.

"As the city works to bring more visitors to HemisFair Park and the Tower of the Americas, this will enable ITC to open its doors to an even larger number of visitors in the future," Romo said. ITC is one of UTSA's three campuses, and hosts nearly 300,000 visitors each year.

For more information, contact David Gabler at 210-458-4550.

--David Gabler