The City of Olmos Park is a suburban community of approximately 2,300 residents, completely surrounded by the City of San Antonio. The City has a rich history dating back to the mid-1920's when H.C. Thorman, a renowned oilman and real estate developer, purchased the property from an Austrian count and developed an exclusive residential neighborhood. The City has since grown into one of Texas' most prominent neighborhoods, yet its commercial corridors that bound the neighbhorhood have never developed compatibly and remain low quality strip buildings along a small highway. In 2009, the City established the Olmos Park Economic Development Corporation (the "EDC") to promote, and enhance economic development for Olmos Park, the McCullough Commercial Corridor in particular.
As a key early initiative to inform and guide subsequent efforts, the EDC and City Council retained a team led by Michael G. Imber Architects and Sargent Town Planning to create a conceptual plan that establishes a vision for the revitalization of this Commercial Corridor, with the core goal of elevating its quality and character to match that of the historic neighborhood. A Vision Plan emerged from a week-long charrette in June 2010 - including a series of illustrations of the recommended types of buildings, streets, open spaces and parking arrangements for the Corridor - intended to embrace the City's heritage, support the present-day vision and spirit of the community, and attract private investment to improve the district's business mix and economic performance.
