Did you know that Hemisfair isn’t just a park?
We’re two non-profit organizations - The Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC), and the Hemisfair Conservancy -- that are creating a thriving urban district in Downtown San Antonio... a district with three parks -- Yanaguana Garden, Civic Park, and Tower Park.
The Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation (HPARC) was established in 2009 by the City of San Antonio to oversee the redevelopment of the 1968 World’s Fair site. In 2014, the Hemisfair Conservancy was established to assist HPARC with philanthropic efforts. To better identify with our mission, the city of San Antonio changed our name in 2015 and removed “park” – so you can call us either just “Hemisfair, or the “Hemisfair District.”
Aerial view from the south west corner of Hemisfair
HPARC Marketing and Events
The HPARC Events Team creates some of our city’s biggest and most popular events within the district, and the HPARC Marketing Team works to amplify the voices of the tenants, redevelopment projects, and events through various marketing tactics.
Hemisfair Conservancy
To assist with Hemisfair’s goal of becoming financially self-sustaining, The Hemisfair Conservancy works to raise, manage, and allocate philanthropic dollars for parks improvement projects through generous contributions from a broad variety of individual donors, family foundations, corporations, and other grant-making sources.
The little ones love Yanaguana Garden!
HPARC Development
HPARC's primary focus has been on the development and operations of the park. The development aspect involves creating a master plan that incorporates community input and a vision and use plan for each park.
The three parks within our district are Yanaguana Garden, Civic Park, and Tower Park.
HPARC also partners with the Public Works Department at the City of San Antonio and contractors like Skanska to execute bond projects such as the Civic Park. Additionally, HPARC has been updating and white boxing the historic homes within the district to prepare them for tenants to move in. Funds for these projects come from bonds, philanthropy, or federal grants. HPARC received funding from the City of San Antonio up until 2020, and we are currently focusing on funding from philanthropy and federal grants.
HPARC Operations
The HPARC Operations Team, in collaboration with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, ensure that all three parks are well-maintained. They handle general maintenance and upkeep such as: emptying trash, servicing public restrooms, and helping with horticulture and planting.
The HPARC Operations Team also helps with park maintenance, puts out games in our small games area, waters trees, keeps our flower beds looking amazing, and works with the city of San Antonio for any needs the district has.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg was 'front and center' for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Civic Park
The entire Hemisfair Team is dedicated to creating a well-maintained and sustainable space in Downtown San Antonio for everyone to enjoy and be proud of. Please stop and say hi to us soon, we love visits from our neighbors!
Lauren Leija is the Communications Coordinator at Hemisfair
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