Two pedestrian bridges spanning the San Antonio River at the Pearl, installed last year, finally opened to the public on Wednesday.
Oxbow Development, a subsidiary of Silver Ventures, cut the ribbon on the newly named Cooper’s Bridge and the Brewmeister’s Bridge, a project intended to connect all parts of the ever-expanding Pearl development.
Oxbow and Pearl leaders held up the bridges as a milestone for the development linking a community that has seen extraordinary growth around the River North and Tobin Hill neighborhoods in recent years.
“These bridges are more than structures — they are connectors, connectors to our community and a catalyst for growth,” said Pearl CEO Mesha Millsap. “There’s been a lot of anticipation around these bridges, and they are part of a larger expansion project … to really double the Pearl’s footprint in this neighborhood.”
Millsap said the idea to build bridges came from a master planning process in 2023. She said 3.4 million people visit the walkable dining and entertainment destination every year.
Under construction since early last year, the bridges create a walking pathway across the river similar to Emma’s Bridge — a bridge named in honor of Emma Koehler, who ran the Pearl Brewery after her husband Otto Koehler died.
Silver Ventures CEO Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, the billionaire mastermind behind the Pearl, said Emma’s is a relic of the shuttered brewery.
A conveyor belt was removed and the structure moved and made into a bridge that now spans the river near Hotel Emma, the Culinary Institute of America and the river amphitheater, he said. It also brings unwanted foot traffic into the car parking valet space at the hotel, an issue that might be eased by the additional bridges.
The new Brewmeister’s Bridge, which reflects the Pearl’s history as a brewery, is located between the hotel and The Cellars apartment tower, open since 2017, and spans the river where another new hotel is planned west of the river.
Also ceremoniously opened on Wednesday, Cooper’s Bridge is named for coopers, the craftsmen who made barrels for the brewery.
It is located near the high-end food and beverage and dining hall, Pullman Market, and the 166-unit Cooper’s Row residential development set to open this spring.
Oxbow bought from the city both Schiller and East Quincy streets, adjacent the Cooper’s Row structure, and plans to close those streets to vehicles so they’ll be for pedestrians only, said Omar Gonzalez, director of development at Oxbow.
An indoor/outdoor eatery and music venue under construction at Newell Avenue and Quincy Street visible from the bridge is nearly complete. The restaurant’s name and opening date are expected to be announced in the coming days, said a Pearl spokesman.
West of those Pearl projects is a mix of new multi-family and townhome developments as well as older homes and a residential complex owned by the San Antonio Housing Authority.
Both bridges were developed by Oxbow with funding from the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ). State filings show the combined total cost for bridge construction was estimated at $1.5 million.
Credit: Shari Biediger / San Antonio Report
Last April, the TIRZ approved $6.8 million in funding for Oxbow to build the bridges, as well as sidewalks and bike lanes, stairs to the river, and to regrade area streets. It was expected that the $475 million in planned Oxbow developments will generate $2.5 million in annual tax increment revenue.
After the Pearl’s parent Silver Ventures led a public-private partnership to build a drainage channel to control flooding in the area, it also partnered with the city, Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority in 2007 to remake a blighted waterway.
Today, the Museum Reach of the San Antonio River Walk is now a serene and scenic linear park at the Pearl.
Other Pearl projects receiving TIRZ funding for public infrastructure development include the Can Plant, Southline and The Cellars apartments.
“I can’t wait to see more of this kind of infrastructure being built across the community,” said District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, attending the bridge ribbon-cutting event. “We need more pedestrian walkways. We need stronger sidewalks that are accessible.”
