It’s been a full year since a Boston-based landscape design firm began the work to design the city’s ambitious tree sanctuary project.
Though that’s a fraction of the time it takes an oak tree to grow to its full size, Sasaki designers have landed on a master plan for Arboretum San Antonio, located at a former golf course on the Southeast Side.
The team led by Sasaki landscape architect Anna Cawrse revealed its “grand vision” at a special event on Saturday, a final mock-up of South Texas’ first arboretum.
The plan for the 200-acre arboretum at 4226 S.E. Military Dr. combines the best of three big ideas the firm proposed in October for public input.
It will be a mosaic of landscapes, according to a Sasaki document, that includes welcome and event centers, city and county park space, a nature center and amphitheater, a pond plaza, education and training space, research fields, central valley and wildlands and a south trailhead area.
An outdoor classroom, great lawn, veterans grove and vehicle parking are also incorporated into the plan.
Throughout the arboretum is a canopy of nearly 40 species of trees and shrubs, including old-growth Texas persimmon, ash, pecan and centennial live oak trees, all growing along Salado Creek.
The initial three concepts developed by Sasaki were titled “Wild San Antonio,” “Testing Grounds” and “Community Crossroads,” each with various features and potential programs for the public to prioritize.
Wild San Antonio focused on restoration, education, exploration, nature and immersion, including things like trails, accessible play areas and cabins. It was a favorite among many, said founding Arboretum CEO Thomas Corser at the time.
The site for the arboretum was selected in 2022 and purchased through a lease agreement with Brooks. The property was recently expanded with the acquisition of another 18.5 acres, which includes the former golf clubhouse.
Late last year, the board of Arboretum San Antonio selected Adriana Quiñones to replace Corser, who has continued to work with Quiñones during the transition.
Quiñones was formerly executive director of the Columbus Botanical Garden in Columbus, Georgia.
Arboretum San Antonio’s project founder is Henry Cisneros, a former San Antonio mayor and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who has visited many of the 41 arboretums in 50 cities across the country.
Initial cost estimates for the project are between $30 million and $50 million.
Bexar County has committed $7.3 million in funding for the arboretum and the City of San Antonio has so far contributed $400,000 for a tree nursery. At a City Council briefing earlier this year, Cisneros said the organization also would look to the city for $25 million in additional support.
A timeline calls for the arboretum to be completed in phases, starting with “Phase Zero,” when organization leaders plan to kick off a capital campaign and work on financing for the project, and set up a base camp of operations.
The site will not be open to the public during this phase, which is expected to end in early 2028.
The next phase of the project will include a groundbreaking event for building projects and opening some of the arboretum site to the public.
