Hays Street Bridge

The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad was pushing west from San Antonio. To aid with that expansion, the Phoenix Bridge Co. was contracted to build railroad bridges over rivers.

The company built a bridge over the Nueces River west of Uvalde that would later move to San Antonio and become the Hays Street Bridge.

In the early 1900s the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad was expanding westward and asked the City of San Antonio for permission to cross the East Side streets with their mainlines.

To make sure residents of the East Side still had access to downtown, the City required the railroad companies to build a bridge over the railroad tracks for horse-drawn carriages and later motorized vehicles. To save costs, the railroad company relocated the bridge from Uvalde to San Antonio.

As vehicle traffic increased, the Hays Street Bridge was deemed unsafe and later closed.

After being unused for decades, the San Antonio Conservation Board decided to support the project of restoring the Hays Street Bridge.

The Hays Street Bridge was designated a Texas Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

City executed documents to receive state grant moneys to restore the Bridge.

Union Pacific transferred the property of the Hays Street Bridge to the City of San Antonio.

After 28 years of being closed to the public, the Hays Street Bridge opened as a pedestrian bridge stretching from Austin Street to Cherry Street.

The City of San Antonio entered into a development incentive agreement with Alamo Beer Company to build a new microbrewery, administrative offices, a restaurant and beer garden, event venue and outdoor activity area located at 803 N. Cherry St. and 415 Burnet St.

Part of the agreement included sale of City-owned property located at 803 N. Cherry St.

The image shown is a map of the Brewery plan. The city has sold the property on North Cherry Street to Alamo Beer Co. for its brewery and mixed-use development. The main portion of the map highlights two locations in callout boxes: Land sold to Alamo Beer Co. 803 N. Cherry St. and Brewery 415 Burnet St. There is a smaller inset labeled Detail area with a scale from 0 to 500 feet and a north arrow. Streets on the map include Lamar St., Hays St., Broadway, Mesquite St., North Cherry St. and Burnet St. Nearby landmarks shown include the Hays St. Bridge in a small callout box and Healy Murphy Park. The highways labeled are 37 and 281.

On December 3, 2014, the City modified the development incentive agreement with Alamo Beer Company to accommodate delays caused by litigation. On December 18, 2014, the City appealed the District Court's decision to the Fourth Court of Appeals.

Fourth Court of Appeals issued opinion finding that the City was entitled to governmental immunity, reversing the Trial Court's decision and rendering judgment in favor of the City. Plaintiffs appealed this decision to the Texas Supreme Court.

The Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) voted unanimously to deny the proposal from Loopy Limited to construct a five-story residential structure (with some pocket retail) on the vacant lot at 803 N. Cherry St.

HDRC voted 5-3 to deny the revised proposal.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley issued a decision letter granting a conditional approval of the project which included 11 stipulations.

The applicant worked with the Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association and the Design Review Committee of the HDRC to develop the design further and address the stipulations.

Finding that the stipulations had been satisfied or otherwise addressed with the working group mentioned above, a final approval (Certificate of Appropriateness) was issued by the City Manager.

The Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association provided written support for the project.