The future of Texas downtowns stands at a crossroads, shaped by the pandemic and the rise of remote work. Major Texas cities — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston — have led the return to office spaces and experienced an influx of visitors. But they are also grappling with some of the country’s highest commercial real estate vacancy rates. Many believe that converting unused commercial space into housing could solve the vacancy issues and address the problems of high rent. Others argue that unused buildings should be redeveloped and enhanced into destination commercial areas. However, both transformative ideas face financial, developmental and policy challenges.
Nevertheless, the current challenge has sparked a need for reimagining the future of our downtowns.
Join the LBJ School of Public Affairs Urban Lab and The Texas Tribune on Thursday, April 18 at the Bass Lecture Hall, LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Speakers include Trish DeBerry, president and CEO, Centro San Antonio; Jenell Moffett, chief impact officer at Downtown Austin Alliance; Jennifer Scripps, president and CEO, Downtown Dallas, Inc., and Steven Pedigo, director, LBJ Urban Lab, University of Texas at Austin. The event's moderator is Joshua Fechter, urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune.Â
Doors will open at 11:45 a.m. and the conversation will begin at 12:15 p.m.
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The one-hour conversation will be followed by an opportunity for in-person attendees to participate in facilitated conversation with LBJ Urban Lab leadership and students.
Parking is not provided. This venue does not have designated parking so please plan ahead and carpool, or take a rideshare as parking in the area is limited.
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This in-person event will be live streamed for virtual attendees and will be available to watch on demand at texastribune.org/events.
Email us at events@texastribune.org
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Saucedo-Herrera is the president and CEO of greater:SATX, a regional economic partnership charged with growing and diversifying the eight-county San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA. During her seven-year tenure at the helm of San Antonio’s economic development team, greater:SATX has secured over 23,000 jobs for the region through recruitment and expansion projects that include work with Ernst & Young, Victory Capital, Navistar and Aisin.
Kamerlander is president and CEO of the Greater San Marcos Partnership. He formerly served as director of Lockhart Economic Development, where he developed the city’s first economic development strategic plan to promote Lockhart as a destination for job creation and investment. The successful program saw the development of a LEDC-owned 75 acre-acre industrial park housing Lockhart’s most recent announcement, The Ziegenfelder Company, a frozen treat manufacturer. The project included a $46 million investment and is creating 100 new jobs.
Latson is the CEO of Opportunity Austin. Previously, he founded and served as executive director for ARMA, the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, a business group focused on strengthening the advanced manufacturing community through advocacy, workforce development and networking. Latson is also a member of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Semiconductor Taskforce.
Packer is president and CEO of the New Braunfels Chamber, a membership organization representing more than 1,600 businesses. The chamber advocates for sound public policy, serves as the destination marketing organization for New Braunfels and manages Confluence, a public-private economic development initiative.
Cisneros is chair of the infrastructure investment firm American Triple I. He is also vice chair of the board of directors and equity owner of Shank Williams Cisneros & Co. LLC and principal of Siebert Williams Shank & Co. LLC. He was mayor of San Antonio from 1981-89 and secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton from 1993-97.
