San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside (SAGE) has presented Via Metropolitan Transit with a Best of the Eastside Business Award. This award was given to honor VIA's efforts to preserve and rehabilitate structures in the Ellis Alley enclave.
“Ellis Alley represents an important piece of San Antonio's history, and Via, as a good corporate citizen and community partner, is proud to have played a role in preserving this history and ensuring the enclave continues to serve a valuable purpose in the community,” said Via President/CEO Jeff Arndt.
Via received the award in the "Best Transformation" category for its work in restoring a group of six 100-year-old structures on the near East Side. Via opened the Ellis Alley Park-and-Ride in May 1999. As part of the project, Via rehabilitated two of the structures in the historic enclave to use as a transit information center, which opened in 2002. A third building was converted into a private dental office at a later date. Then in August 2014 Via finished the rehabilitation of the historic Beacon Light Lodge, and SAGE moved its offices into the building. The restoration on the remaining two structures was finished in September.
“The Ellis Alley project was a wonderful re-use of historic structures on the Eastside, and Via has done an outstanding job working to preserve some of our history,” said SAGE Executive Director Jackie Gorman. “These awards celebrate our successes as a community, and they tell positive stories about the Eastside of San Antonio.”
The Best of the Eastside Business Awards are in their second year, and they are presented to entities that help promote business on the Eastside. Via’s funding partners for the Ellis Alley project include the city of San Antonio Department of Planning and Community Development TIRZ and the San Antonio Conservation Society. The architects for the project were Ford Powell Carson with Mainstreet Architects, and the contractor was Baron-Long.
