SAN ANTONIO – Ups and downs with developers of the Lonestar Brewery have made the community question its future.
The brewery property is being foreclosed on and will be up for auction, and the South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce president Al Arreola Jr. doesn't think that's a bad thing.
When a development partnership to rebuild the Lonestar Brewery broke apart in June, some community members worried the property would have to stay as is.
"Of course, we want to see the project move a little faster. Something you'd see like the investment that happened at the Pearl, but you were talking about one investor there," Arreola said. "The revitalization is still happening. Obviously, its private holding has had its complications, but you see around the area the infrastructure investments have happened."
Arreola said he’s not worried at all, especially now that the property is being foreclosed on and will be on the auction block Tuesday. He said that's great news.
"I'm sure somebody's going to take advantage of a good price on this property and see what they can do," he said.
In October 2016, big companies such as Cinemark announced they'd be coming to the brewery. Even though the development partnership dissolved, people in the community believe those companies would come back if there was a new partnership.
Arreola and the rest of the chamber plan to help move that along.
"It's a private property at the end of the day, but we can make this attractive to private investment," he said.
In the end, he says it's all about the people.
"Whether they're trying to find some culture, some food, shopping, we want to see the same amenities down here on the South Side," Arreola said.
Before the development partnership ended, the $300 million project was set to break ground this past summer. The plan includes 376,000 square feet of retail and creative office space, as well as three multi-family residential buildings.