The Pearl complex has spent the last couple of decades turning a defunct beer plant into an urban space for living, working and playing. They continue to remake themselves as the years pass, and one of the newest incarnations is what’s called 1100 Springs Plaza.
CEO Mesha Millsap said it’s all a part of human-scaling Pearl.
“A few years ago, we made the decision that we wanted to build a space for people, as opposed to cars. So it's Grayson and Karnes Street near the Full Goods building,” Millsap said.
What used to be a parking lot is now a pedestrian plaza of about ¾ of an acre, with tables and shade and a water feature, tipping the metaphorical hat to the 1100 springs referenced on Pearl Beer cans that used to be filled at the Pearl Plant that was once there.
Pearl transplanted large live oaks there two summers ago for an October 2022 opening, and now they’ve got a new project to stage there. CEO Mesha Millsap introduces what they’re calling Music at the Springs.
“We're actually introducing a new event that we're going to be offering on Friday evenings, and we're really excited to focus this time on music, art and food,” Millsap said. “And so what we're doing is we're working with our some of our culinary partners in Full Goods Diner and Ladino, and we're activating our 1100 Springs area, which is a beautiful park space on the north side of our campus.”
Those familiar with Pearl know the space just east of the Full Goods building.
“We'll be having some entertainment and some vendors and food from Full Goods Diner and Ladino and some of their friends every Friday, and we're planning to try to make this an every-Friday thing that people can do and come in and enjoy some entertainment,” she said.
Music at the Springs’ first guest this Friday is R&B singer Elise Road and her band, and like all of the Music at the Springs nights, the event is free. Right now, the plan is for this to be a recurring Friday night event, all autumn long.
“We've got the first three weeks planned, so through the end of September. Our hope is that we'll again be building this every week, and it'll be something that'll be that recurring thing that'll happen in 1100 Springs,” she said.
Pearl has introduced paid parking recently, but there are still free or inexpensive spaces to find.
“We have the parking garage, [where] the first two hours are free, and then in all other surface lots, it is the first 30 minutes free, and then it's paid after that time,” Millsap said. “So there are still some free options available. There is lots of surface parking available, so shouldn't be hard to find a spot."
