REIMAGINING THE ALAMO

San Antonio's Paseo de Alamo reopens after more than 2 years

Native plants line the Paseo del Alamo.

Photo courtesy of Alamo Trust.

While no one in San Antonio is likely to forget the Alamo, they may have forgotten the walkway that connects the mission to the River Walk. But after a more than two-year hiatus, the Paseo del Alamo has reopened with new landscaping, improved accessibility, and a new welcome center.

Completed in 1981, the Paseo was designed to link the state's number-one and number-two tourist destinations (the Alamo and River Walk, natch) in a more thoughtful manner than a simple path. The restored version updates the original to ensure everyone is welcome.

Fully ADA-compliant paths and a new elevator move visitors between street level and river level. Native plants drink from a rainwater-harvesting cistern that reduces reliance on city water while honoring the original design's emphasis on water as a life-giving resource.

Visitors stepping onto Alamo Plaza from the Paseo will be greeted by the welcome center and an updated Southwest Corner and 18-Pounder Cannon Exhibit, the spot where a cannon was believed to have been fired during the 1836 Siege in response to Santa Anna's advancing forces. The exhibit also honors defenders like Toribio Losoya, who was born at the Alamo, lived on the grounds near the exhibit's current location, and died defending it.

Alamo 18-Pounder Cannon Exhibit The 18-Pounder Cannon Exhibit is one of the first sights guests see when emerging from the River Walk.Photo courtesy of Alamo Trust

The reopening marks another milestone in the $700 million Alamo Plan, the ongoing effort to redevelop, restore, and renovate the historic site. The sweeping project includes the Visitor Center and Museum, which will house rocker Phil Collins' collection of Alamo artifacts and more recently acquired objects like a cannon that was most recently used as the base of a birdbath.

"The Alamo and the River Walk are linked not just through tourism but through history," said Alamo Trust Inc. President and CEO Hope Andrade, in a statement. "The Paseo's beautiful restoration will make it easier for guests to walk from the energy of the River Walk to the reverence of the Alamo grounds."

You can take a stroll through the renovated Paseo del Alamo below:

history public works river walk alamo

PRIDE OF PLACE

San Antonio nonprofit dreams up safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth

Rendering courtesy of Thrive Youth Center

Thrive Vecindad will provide housing and support for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth.

For many LGBTQ+ youth in San Antonio, home is not guaranteed. More than 1,500 have experienced homelessness in the past year after being pushed out by family, shut out of housing, or aged out of foster care. Now Thrive Youth Center is looking to build a place they belong in.

The nonprofit and the San Antonio Housing Trust Foundation announced plans to build Thrive Vecindad, a transitional West Side community that will offer affordable, safe housing for up to 25 18-to-24-year-olds.

LGBTQ+ young adults, especially transgender youth, are particularly vulnerable to housing instability. Many who go unsheltered are at risk of trauma, exploitation, or mental health struggles. Those who don't end up on the streets often cycle through temporary, unstable living situations with extended family, friends, or romantic partners while they figure out long-term housing solutions, according to a city task force. At Thrive alone, 107 young adults served by the nonprofit have aged out of foster care, and seven to 10 individuals sit on the waitlist for an emergency shelter bed at any given time.

Thrive Vecindad will offer supportive services, including case management, educational support, workforce development opportunities, mental health resources, and pathways to permanent housing. Tenants can stay in place for two to three years — significantly longer than what emergency shelters allow.

The planned community in the 1600 block of Buena Vista Street will consist of two historic homes, which will undergo restoration by the housing trust. The foundation will also build a nearby third house, and a fourth structure will serve as a community center. The houses will feature shared living rooms and bathrooms, while the community center will have a shared kitchen, a library, and other basic critical resources.

Last March, Thrive announced it was increasing its emergency shelter bed capacity at Haven for Hope from 16 to 20 beds — a move that created an additional 1,460 nights of safe shelter for unhoused LGBTQ+ youths. But the organization says that temporary sheltering has always been a stopgap. Thrive has long seen a need to develop a neighborhood-like campus for at-risk youth.

The San Antonio Housing Trust, which focuses on building or preserving affordable housing in underserved areas, originally acquired the Buena Vista Street properties in spring 2025 with a goal of working with a local nonprofit that offers a vulnerable population short-term, supportive housing.

Housing trust officials said projects like Thrive Vecindad fit into city leaders' long-range goal of filling gaps in San Antonio's affordable housing supply. The task force has an objective to add 100 supportive homes citywide for LGBTQ+ youth who struggle with safe housing. After Thrive and the housing trust meet a $10 million fundraising goal, the two organizations hope to break ground in late 2027 and finish construction by late 2028 or early 2029.

"This partnership marks a transformational step forward in addressing the housing needs of LGBTQ youth in our community," Justin Holley, Thrive's executive director, said in a statement. "Far too many young people face homelessness simply because of who they are. Together with the San Antonio Housing Trust Foundation, we are creating a model of care and housing that provides not only shelter, but stability, dignity and opportunity."

lgbtq homeless san antonio thrive youth center san antonio housing trust foundation west side lgbtq