Marty Wender is widely known as the man who overcame obstacles to put places like Crownridge and Westover Hills on the San Antonio map.
Longtime developer Marty Wender, 76, gestures in his home-based office overlooking the city from the 14th floor.In college, a class on logic taught him that “a positive can’t be proved with a negative,” a philosophy that motivates him to this day. “My whole life people have told me what I can’t do and … that gives me more incentive to do it,” he said.
Those two road projects eventually led him to look west at a time when the city was growing north with projects like Stone Oak at a rapid pace. And he realized that the potential for San Antonio to grow west from I-10 was greater ever since corporate campuses like USAA and Valero, along with UTSA, had been built.It was also a wide-open area that didn’t have the development challenges of the far North Side. Wender soon went about acquiring 3,500 acres of available ranchland southwest of Culebra Road.
But the city was $3 million short of what it needed to also buy land for the freeway. To the dismay of other developers in a meeting room who didn’t think he should spend the money, Cisneros convinced Wender to chip in half that amount. Wender started making calls and when SeaWorld owner William Jovanovich was finally scheduled to fly in a helicopter to the site, Wender wanted him to see that there was adequate access to the site. He arranged to have trucks drive up and down a road he had built nearby in order to mimic the freeway, which was still in the works.
“It was the end of the ‘80s — everybody’s going broke,” he explained about the financial crisis when many Texas banks failed between 1980 and 1994. Wender lost most of the land for Westover Hills during the crash, which later reverted back to him and a partnership led by a Canadian investor.“There was a time it really was tough, but I always knew even when it was the darkest day, I knew that my biggest asset was knowing this land and my ability to sell it,” he said.
Northwest Vista College opened in 1995. A number of neighborhoods and apartment complexes and a service industry that includes retail, food and beverage, entertainment and even hospitals, has followed. “Like any real estate project, there’s an element of luck to it, and in Marty’s case, he had the benefit of a good planner in Ralph and the political support of Henry Cisneros,” Cross added.“People thought I was crazy to go west,” Wender said. “They thought the freeway idea was crazy. Then with SeaWorld, they really thought I was crazy.”
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
‘Million Dollar Listing’ Alums Form New Team With ‘Buying Beverly Hills’ Castmembers (Exclusive)Former Bravo stars James Harris and David Parnes are joining forces with Jon Grauman and Adam Rosenfeld to form Bond Collective at The Agency
Baca lebih lajut »
Exclusive The Forest Hills Pics Show Scream Queens Stacey Nelkin & Marianne HaganComingSoon is exclusively revealing the first images of horror actresses Stacey Nelkin and Marianne Hagan in The Forest Hills.
Baca lebih lajut »
Speedster Dijon Stanley of Granada Hills finally met his match: back judge Antoine CasonWho is the back judge who was able to run stride for stride with Granada Hills speedster Dijon Stanley? He was a first-round NFL draft pick and All-American at Arizona.
Baca lebih lajut »
Granite Hills tops Danville San Ramon Valley for state crownGranite Hills beats San Ramon Valley of Danville for the California State 2-A football title at Saddleback College, scoring in overtime and then holding on
Baca lebih lajut »
Coyote that attacked two-year-old girl in Woodland Hills captured, euthanizedCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife officials captured the coyote on Friday, and after collecting a DNA sample, concluded that it was the animal who attacked the two-year-old girl on Dec. 2.
Baca lebih lajut »
Photos: Granada Hills Charter loses in football state championship gameSee what happened as Granada Hills Charter played in the CIF State Division 4-A title game on a rainy Saturday night in San Marin.
Baca lebih lajut »