Feeling Green

Popular Far West Side park grows by 9 acres after generous donation

The park will expand by nearly 9 acres.

The family of a prominent local businessman has bequeathed the Far West Side with an unbe-leaf-able gift: nearly 9 acres of parkland.

Nani Falcone Community Park will add 8.763 acres of land near the corner of Guilbeau Road and Wickersham Street, behind the H-E-B. The gift from the late Stanley Spigel expands the park to 74.3 acres, and will eventually be used to connect the park to the Howard Peak Greenway Trail System.

As San Antonio City Councilwoman Ana Sandoval notes in a release announcing the news, the gift is rather exceptional. "It is not everyday we add eight acres of land to our parks," she said.

Currently, the expansive community space is home to picnic space, children's playscapes, and even a skate park. Spigel's generous donation will allow for improved amenities and trail access for the adjacent Braun Station East neighborhood.

"My husband, Stanley Spigel, loved San Antonio and cared greatly for the quality of life in our city,” said Barbara Spigel, who oversaw the donation on behalf of her husband. “He was a self-made businessman and made it a priority to give back to the community that had been so good to him. I know he would have been very pleased that this land is being donated to the City of San Antonio to enhance our parks system. He would hope that all who use this park enjoy its beauty and benefit from spending time outdoors.”

On December 10, the city formally accepted the donation along with a construction contract to begin connecting the park and the trail. Once funding for the project is secured, the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department will ask the community for input on new park amenities and the future trail connection.

"The land donation ... provides an opportunity to better connect residents to this highly utilized green space in an urban environment,” said Homer Garcia III, the department's director. “We’re excited to move this project forward and work with the community in further development of the park.”

parks

SPARE ART

North San Antonio gets crafty with new creative supplies shop

Photo by Ismael Rodriguez.

Local nonprofit Spare Parts recently opened its brick-and-mortar center for creative reuse.

One local nonprofit organization has spent years getting environmental accountability and community education down to a fine art. And now it’s getting crafty with a new brick-and-mortar shop in North San Antonio aimed to help locals to go green.

Spare Parts was founded in 2010 by executive director and longtime arts educator Mary Elizabeth Cantú to provide a creative spark for area students and schools lacking arts funding and resources. Through a variety of educational programs, public art exhibitions, events, and the organization’s traveling Mini Art Museum, Spare Parts has enlightened thousands of students and San Antonians, all while fostering reuse practices and sustainability, a key tenet of the nonprofit.

Spare Parts’ latest endeavor is another artistic triumph. Its new center for creative reuse, located at 13451 Wetmore Rd., is nothing less than a crafter’s delight. The shop features an impressive array of “pre-loved” and price-reduced artsy merchandise — from paint supplies and paper crafts to sewing items, beading and jewelry, school and office supplies, vintage gadgets, and crafting kits — all of which has been rescued from area landfills.

Cantú notes that proceeds from the new Spare Parts’ shop will enable the organization to further increase creative and educational experiences for San Antonio students and families. But even more so, she hopes the shop will help locals embrace the concept that one person’s trash can be another’s artistic treasure.

“There really isn’t any more room in the world for this stuff. Buying pre-loved at places like Spare Parts or other stores is a way to reduce the amount of things [people] feel that they need,” Cantú said in a recent interview with the San Antonio Sentinel. “We’re challenging people to rethink things around them, buy pre-loved, and find a way to be creative in their lives.”

In the time of COVID-19, however, getting the creative juices flowing isn’t as simple as popping into the Spare Parts shop. Though the center for creative reuse is open, the store is currently offering only weekend curbside pickup of items ordered through its website. But crafters shouldn’t despair, as Spare Parts is offering private in-person shopping experiences in the new year, with the first planned for January 16 and 17.

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