In April, UTSA announced the ITC’s relocation to a temporary site at Frost Tower as it weighs options for a permanent location.
SAN ANTONIO — The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has received permission from the state to demolish the vacant Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) facility downtown, a key step in the university’s plans to relocate the museum elsewhere.
UTSA said Thursday that the Texas Historical Commission has green-lit demolition of the museum at 801 East Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, on a plot of land adjacent to Hemisfair and just across the highway from the Alamodome. That iteration of the ITC, built in 1968, serviced its last visitors in the spring before closing in May.
The anticipated razing, a date for which has not yet been announced, is part of UTSA’s grander plan to move the ITC to a temporary site in the heart of downtown as it works to “ensure the museum’s sustainability” and plan a permanent institute.
The university laid out three strategic steps as part of its ITC Centennial 2068 Initiative:
- Relocation to a temporary site.
- Finalizing its new permanent location.
- Maximizing the land at UTSA’s Hemisfair campus.
The ITC is set to re-open next fall as a temporary set of exhibits in Frost Tower while plans for a future permanent home evolve. According to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, $1.4 million in renovations will first be made to Frost Tower to prepare it to welcome ITC visitors. That project starts Jan. 15 and is expected to be completed by Oct. 1.
Since 1968, ITC has been located at Hemisfair’s Texas Pavilion. The university determined that relocation of the museum to a temporary home until a permanent location can be constructed, represents the best solution to preserving its historic archives and exhibits.
Earlier this year, the ITC museum officially paused operations in its former space in the Texas Pavilion while options for a permanent one are explored.
UTSA says it will continue to partner with the Texas Historical Commission to ensure “the legacy of the Texas Pavilion is brought to life through community engagement and digital displays in the future museum.”
What’s to come?
Those who paid attention to conceptual renderings released when the city unveiled its dreams of an expanded downtown sports and entertainment district might have noticed something sitting roughly in the same area as the vacant ITC building: a potential new Spurs arena.
While nothing has been officially green-lit and Spurs brass themselves remain tight-lipped about their plans, a new downtown arena for the hometown NBA franchise has been highlighted as an anchor project. The city has been talking with Bexar County and the team about it since spring 2023.
And in February, the University of Texas Board of Regents approved handing first dibs of the 13.9-acre parcel of land to the City of San Antonio, which has the option to sell or lease the plot at a pivotal point in downtown’s evolution.
For now, the city says the demolition permit was “a key step in the process” of shaping the area’s future.
“We will continue to work with UTSA on additional steps and timeline for potentially acquiring the property,” spokesperson Brian Chasnoff said.