SAN ANTONIO – There is no mystery how Mark’s Outing, a burger joint on East Commerce Street, got its name.
“My name is Mark Outing,” the owner said. “And I’ll take care of you.”
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Outing said his business has called Denver Heights home for two decades, but it hasn’t always been easy.
“I literally have to say by the grace of God,” Outing said.
Outing said the business struggled the most in 2017, but he experienced a community response that saved his shop.
“The support was overwhelming,” Outing said. “By God’s grace, we were able to endure it.”
As the East Side continues to grow, local leaders such as San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside (SAGE) executive director James Nortey want development done responsibly.
“If you were here 30 years ago — and then you were to leave and come back — you would be shocked,” Nortey said. “The most stark change is with this residential development, but we’ve not seen nearly as much commercial or business development.”
Nortey said history shows Denver Heights as a gateway: connecting downtown and San Antonio’s East Side.
“A lot of times people forget that the East Side, particularly in the (19)20s, (19)30s and (19)40s, had so much commercial activity,” Nortey said. “It is our dream to bring that back.”
Nortey said SAGE was created to encourage responsible economic development in neighborhoods like Denver Heights.
“We want to spur economic development from our small businesses because we need that,” Nortey said. “But we also need to remember our culture and our stories.
“We don’t want so much growth that the people who have lived here for generations can no longer afford to live here because property taxes go up so high.”
One possible solution is focusing on community-centered growth. Nortey cited this as a priority for residential development.
“A lot of times we pit developers against neighborhoods, and it just seems like it’s a win-lose (situation) and we are all worse off,” Nortey said.
Nortey said developers will “be far more successful if you talk to the neighborhood that you invest in and ask them about the designs you have.”
In Nortey’s opinion, the same goes for business.
“We want to welcome growth because with new growth comes the ability for vivacity,” Nortey said. “That allows for a new tax base which pays for our schools, our hospitals and the city services.”
This is a philosophy picked up by local businesses such as Reese Bros. Barbecue.
“We’ve already had regulars coming in even after just six months of being open,” Reese Bros. Barbecue co-owner Elliott Reese said.
Reese’s restaurant has been open for nearly three years. He said Denver Heights was a selling point for the affordability and the community.
“We knew that there was going to be a lot of growth,” Reese said. “With the plans at the Alamodome, hopefully, it becomes a little more walkable over here.”
Reese is referring to Project Marvel, the City of San Antonio’s plan for a downtown sports and entertainment district. If approved, the project could directly impact development next to Denver Heights.
However, it is not a done deal just yet.
“We need a balance,” Nortey said. “We need to strike the right tone of new growth to pay for city services but not a road that is so fast and so quick that we can’t control it.”
