SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio City Council approved a measure to lower rent for La Villita and Market Square businesses.
Downtown businesses have been affected by more than a dozen construction projects, some of them which have impeded access for years. Seventeen downtown projects are in the city's five-year program.
"We all get it, actually," said Deborah Sibley, owner of Capistrano Soaps. "That doesn't make it less painful at the moment, but we do get it. We understand that this work needs to be done. The city has to continue to maintain the streets and the utilities."
One project, the South Alamo Bond Project, is specifically affecting the southern end of downtown, including Hemisfair and La Villita. The Zona Cultural street capital project is affecting other parts of central downtown, including Market Square, Main Plaza and Plaza de Armas.
"We have to literally go somewhere else to find income and people so that our business can survive," said Sarah Sifuentes, secretary for the La Villita Tenants Board and partner at Equinox Jewelry Gallery.
On Thursday, City Council approved a measure that grants 75% rent abatement for 18 tenants at La Villita and 92 tenants at Market Square. Advocates have been pushing the relief for over a year.
"This place that has a city's name on it is not meeting its potential," Sifuentes said. "We just laid out the facts, like, 'This is what’s going on. These are how people are being impacted. This has been the history of the lack of progress. What are you going to do about it?'"
Funds for the rent reduction is coming from the Inner City Incentive Fund, according to the City Council meeting agenda. The agenda says the rent relief will go through the duration of the construction projects.
"I was late to the meeting because I was trying to figure out where I was going to park," said Sukh Kaur, council member for District 1. "It's hard to get there if you're not going by foot or are already on the river. If you're going to drive to the destination, it makes it really challenging. So they've been impacted a lot."
The council also approved an extension of contracts by two years for some La Villita businesses, including La Villita Cafe, Bird & Pear, Huipil Market, Equinox gallery, Casa Manos Alegres, Casa Clasal International, River Art Group, Plaza Taxco, Scentchips, Marisol Deluna New York and Little Studio Gallery.
"It's an investment to allow us to be able to go back to doing what it is that we need to do without having to worry about whether or not we have a building to do our work in anymore," Sifuentes said.
San Antonio's Public Works Department has said most projects take one to two years, but what they dig up and the weather can change those timeframes.
Last month, KENS 5 reported that online tools like the Construction Resource Toolkit and the City's new project dashboards are giving businesses updated timelines and other resources. The City is also providing website assistance to impacted businesses.
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