As mayor of San Antonio, Phil Hardberger championed parks as essential to the soul of any city and an important piece of San Antonio’s South Texas natural heritage. With unprecedented vision and leadership, he created a legacy.
Mayor Hardberger saw a prime opportunity for a major park in one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels in San Antonio. The 311-acre purchase allowed the city to establish an oasis in a densely developed area surrounded by subdivisions, freeways and shopping centers.
A design team was chosen to help develop the park after an international competition. The team of Stephen Stimson Associates and D.I.R.T. studio oversaw the development of a master plan to build a park of the highest quality that is sensitive to the needs of San Antonio.
The design team held public input meetings to encourage citizen involvement throughout the Phil Hardberger Park master plan process. Citizens had the opportunity to not only share their vision of Phil Hardberger Park, but to be a part of participative democracy.
The city adopted a master plan in 2008. That plan met the needs of a modern San Antonio but tread lightly on the existing landscape. Most importantly, Phil Hardberger Park improved the quality of life for future generations.
Today, the master plan continues to guide the PHP Conservancy in the development of the park, and San Antonio residents and visitors experience Phil Hardberger Park as a sustainable model of cultivated wild and urban ecology.
“With Phil Hardberger Park, we are creating a park not just for ourselves and our children, but for the centuries”.
“Parks and green space are important to our physical and emotional health. But more important than that, parks have a great democratizing effect on a city. They are places where no matter who you are or where you live, you can gather to enjoy a place of nature’s beauty.”
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