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Children's Museum Moving Out Of Downtown

Craig McMahon Architects

The San Antonio Children’s Museum will be moving from its downtown location to Broadway and Mulberry, once construction on the massive-scale project is complete.

The project comes at a time when city leaders have focused their attention on revitalizing the urban core, but executive director Vanessa Lacoss Hurd doesn’t see it as leaving downtown.

“We see it about providing a more holistic campus and experience for what we want to accomplish with our mission,” she said.

Hurd says the museum as it is now prohibits outdoor opportunities, and its location on Houston Street is hard for buses to navigate in the downtown area.

City council is supportive of the move. Members approved the funding agreement that allows the city bond approved by voters to be spent. They also authorized an agreement for a parking area to be free to visitors at the new location, and a partial street closure of Humphrey Avenue so visitors at the new site won't have to cross a busy street with children in tow.

Hurd says people understand the museum's mission.

"The voters showed just a deep commitment through this last bond to supporting broadly a variety of institutions that are going to collectively improve the quality of life in our city,” she said.

Hurd says the project is moving along aggressively. Already, there has been demolition of the current buildings at Broadway and Mulberry. If all goes well, ground will be broken this summer with the new museum to open in the summer of 2015.

Ryan Loyd was Texas Public Radio's city beat and political reporter. He left the organization in December, 2014.