As expected, a lawsuit aimed at halting demolition efforts at the now-former Institute of Texan Cultures building is before the 15th Court of Appeals.
As expected, a lawsuit aimed at halting demolition efforts at the now-former Institute of Texan Cultures building is before the 15th Court of Appeals.
In a Tuesday press release, the Conservation Society of San Antonio said it is hopeful its “arguments can be heard” by the Austin-based appeals court.
“We are asking the 15th Court of Appeals to allow us to show evidence demonstrating that UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio) and COSA (City of San Antonio) did not follow the law regarding this demolition,” Conservation Society of San Antonio president Lewis Vetter said in a statement, in part.
The conservation society originally filed suit to halt demolition at the ITC on March 26, despite the Texas Historical Commission permitting UTSA to tear the building down in December 2024.
In that lawsuit, the society argued the city improperly used UTSA as a proxy to get the demolition permit and that plans had proceeded without a required federal review process.
The society also argued that demolishing the building violates the 1967 deed that transferred the property from the City of San Antonio to the State of Texas.
While the society waited for a ruling, KSAT captured video of crews dismantling a section of the former museum on April 8.
On April 14, a state district court ruled UTSA and the city could not be sued due to sovereign immunity, which protects local, state and federal entities (including universities) from litigation unless the state allows it.
Background
The former ITC building is a 13.59-acre site at the southeast corner of Hemisfair. Though the land next to Interstate 37 is owned by the University of Texas system, the City of San Antonio has an exclusive option to purchase or lease it.
The Brutalist-style building was built ahead of the 1968 World’s Fair but now sits in the path of the city’s plans for a multi-billion-dollar sports and entertainment district, nicknamed Project Marvel. City renderings of the district show a new Spurs arena and mixed-use development in the same area.
The city has estimated costs for about half the projects in its vision for Project Marvel, including the arena.
The combined price tag currently exceeds $2.75 billion, though the final cost will likely be higher, since several of the listed projects don’t even have cost projections: a “revised” plan for the Alamodome, a new land bridge across Interstate 37, the acquisition of a former federal courthouse, and the related infrastructure needed to support the district.
The city and Spurs began quietly discussing a downtown move in early 2023, though the city did not unveil its Project Marvel plans until November 2024.
Last month, the city, Bexar County and the Spurs signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to further “Project Marvel” discussions.
In the meantime, ITC has already been temporarily relocated to the Frost Tower.
More recent coverage of this story on KSAT:
- Conservation Society of San Antonio appeals court decision blocking lawsuit over demolition of former ITC building
- Conservation Society of San Antonio worries lawsuit to stop ITC demolition could be derailed by ‘lawyer tricks’
- After partial wall removal, Conservation Society seeks quick order blocking demo of former ITC building
- San Antonio Conservation Society files lawsuit to halt ITC demolition
