Panelists at Tribune event discuss how to keep downtowns vibrant post-pandemic

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What to do with vacant offices and how to reconnect communities were some of the topics discussed Thursday during a Texas Tribune panel on revitalizing downtowns across the state.

The event featured Jenell Moffett, chief impact officer at Downtown Austin Alliance; Trish DeBerry, CEO of Centro San Antonio; Jennifer Scripps, CEO of Downtown Dallas, Inc.; and Steven Pedigo, the director of the LBJ Urban Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.

The speakers acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting impact on leaving downtowns with high rates of vacant office spaces. The panelists discussed plans to take advantage of the empty space, such as Dallas converting “zombie buildings” into housing and hotels. Whereas urban planning used to be primarily driven by the workday, cities are now considering how entertainment, green spaces and access to childcare play into developing and maintaining vibrant downtowns.

“For those of us that have studied and thought about downtown development for decades, this is dramatically different,” Pedigo said.

DeBerry said San Antonio is looking into building new stadiums downtown for the city’s NBA and minor league baseball teams. The energy brought in by the sporting events could draw in young people, who would then hopefully pull in businesses looking for a talented workforce, she said.

“I’m going to be brutally honest with you. The pandemic decimated downtown, especially for a town like San Antonio, because we are very reliant upon tourism and hospitality,” DeBerry said. “It’s a clean slate now, and that’s beautiful because we can remake and redefine what we think the urban core looks like.”

Highway capping 

In recent years, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio have undertaken capping projects, which build wide pedestrian-oriented bridges over highways to reconnect neighborhoods that were separated by traffic. For example, Austin received a $105 million federal grant this year to build a cap over sections of Interstate 35 to link east Austin with downtown.

Scripps, Moffett and DeBerry all emphasized the impact highways have had in splitting communities in their cities. Scripps described the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas as a “scar separating uptown from downtown.” She pointed out how caps can make city centers more enjoyable and pointed to the popularity of Klyde Warren Park, which was built over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway and opened in 2012.

The speakers also highlighted the importance of urban planning projects that benefit all residents.

“We’re not just building roads. We’re building cities for people, so the people have to be at the forefront” Moffett said. “As the project moves forward, all that we can do as practitioners is to make sure that there are the right community voices.”

Relationship with the Legislature

The panelists also spoke about the effects of tensions between Texas’ large cities and state leaders. Last year, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 2127, which restricts cities and local governments from passing ordinances that go further than what’s specifically outlined in general state laws. The law is being challenged in court. Last year, a Travis County judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional, giving cities fodder to fight any lawsuit challenging local ordinances under HB 2127.

DeBerry, who called the cities’ relationship with state leaders “adversarial,” pointed to the voter-approved Broadway corridor project in San Antonio that was later canceled after disagreements with the Texas Department of Transportation.

The speakers said they’re preparing to advocate for their cities during next year’s legislative session.

“We’re working more closely than ever with City Hall government offices so that we’ll have a very tightly focused plank of priorities,” Scripps said. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the table. That is the way the cities have to get in there.”

Disclosure: The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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