Moreno\u2019s attitude is echoed by neighbors from La Villita to Hemisfair to Southtown. Many understand the need for better streets and safer pedestrian access, but the cost has been steep.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the gateway to Southtown,\u201d said Miles Donnelly, owner of La Frite, a South Alamo Boulevard restaurant that serves Belgian and French food.<\/p>\n
\u201cOptically, it looks like the whole area is shut down,\u201d Moreno added.<\/p>\n
When the project started, business owners saw a drop in foot traffic and walk-in customers. Tourists staying near the River Walk are less likely to pick their way through the construction zone, both business owners say, and locals are worried about traffic and parking options.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re asking people to take a massive detour through traffic to get to us,\u201d Moreno said.<\/p>\n
Impacts aren\u2019t just cosmetic, businesses are feeling the squeeze.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Mel-Magik-Theater-2025-2.jpg\")
Construction continues to block pedestrian traffic near the entrance to the Magik Theatre. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
The Magik Theatre<\/a>, for example, has lost $300,000 in revenue during the construction. Melissa Zarb-Cousin, the managing director of the kid\u2019s theater, added that the nonprofit has cut seven or eight full-time positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n The theater is adjusting, she said, and looking for fundraising opportunities. City officials have helped the theater plan alternate routes to help bring in school field trips, but that can only help so much.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t help with the perception that things are closed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2018We need to do more\u2019<\/p>\n City officials say they\u2019re listening. Mike Shannon, new director of the city\u2019s Capital Delivery Department, said he\u2019s tried to meet with businesses and listen to their concerns and ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot, but we need to do more,\u201d Shannon said. \u201cWe\u2019re working on additional signage, wayfinding, helping people and residents get through that, whether it\u2019s in cars or on foot, making sure that people can get to their businesses at the same time. [We\u2019re] really pushing our contractor to finish as much as they can, as fast as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n Business owners said they\u2019ve noticed some improvements. Moreno and Donnelly both wanted to ensure that one lane would remain open when construction moved into its next phase on South Alamo Street in November.<\/p>\n Shannon said that would be the case, allowing pedestrians and cars to cross East C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez Boulevard through the end of the project.<\/p>\n Zarb-Cousin said there is routine communication with Sundt, the city\u2019s contractor, and officials, but there\u2019s still room for improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is an improved cadence of communication, however they can offer no reassurance as to when we\u2019re going to reopen and what we need to do between now and then,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n So many deadlines have been missed that locals have a hard time trusting a new spring deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens on March 1 when it\u2019s not done?\u201d asked Donnelly.<\/p>\n Donnelly noted that payments for rent and mortgages and wages can\u2019t just stop or be suspended. Moreno, Zarb-Cousin and their neighbors have improvised with different kinds of shows and offerings, but there\u2019s a limit to how far that can go.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely challenging,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cAny reduction in guest visits at this point would probably be detrimental to our success.\u201d<\/p>\n What caused the delay?<\/p>\n How did a two-year project last more than three years?<\/p>\n \u201cThe main factor of the delays is really centered around unforeseen stuff for underground utilities,\u201d Shannon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shannon said that led to redesigns on the project. Certain pieces of infrastructure were not where engineers and contractors thought they would be.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where the challenge comes in, is when something\u2019s not exactly where we think it was or documented,\u201d Shannon said. \u201cYou know, so many decades ago, even a slight change can cause us to go, \u2018Hey, we have to go redesign something.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Now, city officials are meeting with contractors regularly and trying to move things along. Utility work on water and power infrastructure is done, Shannon added, making city officials more optimistic about their spring deadline.<\/p>\n Not the first time<\/p>\n Work on South Alamo Street is funded using money from a 2017 bond<\/a>. It\u2019s not the only bond project to have had delays impacting local businesses. Work on Zona Cultural streets<\/a> near Milam Park and the Historic Market Square has also been delayed for similar reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cThe underground utility over on Santa Rosa Street became a challenge as well,\u201d said Shannon. \u201cThat one was planned to be done earlier this year, this spring, and now we\u2019re looking at November.\u201d<\/p>\n Over on North St. Mary\u2019s Street, sales plummeted for businesses<\/a> in 2022 when a similar bond project was taking place there. The year before, delays hit Broadway Street<\/a> construction and businesses.<\/p>\n Shannon said that led to an agreement between the San Antonio Water System and the city to improve communication and efficiency on these projects by addressing some of these issues earlier in the process.<\/p>\n City officials are evaluating contractors and considering their past performance when handing out future projects, Shannon added. After a project, city officials will look at consequences for delays and overages.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Mel-Magik-Theater-2025-6.jpg\")
View of the seats inside the Magik Theatre Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SouthtownConstruction_SouthAlamo_SouthtownBusinesses_RoadBlocks_Detours_12_10.02.2025_AmberEsparza.j.jpeg\")
Since construction began, businesses have seen drastic drops in foot traffic from walking customers and tourists along South Alamo Street and the La Villita and Hemisfair areas. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SouthtownConstruction_SouthAlamo_BlushBakeryBar_SouthtownBusinesses_01_10.02.2025_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Southtown bakery and restaurant Blush opened on South Alamo Street in March of 2023. Construction in the area began the year prior, in 2022, and is still ongoing in 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n