A new partnership, coupled with millions of dollars in funding, aims to redevelop, preserve and restore the Alamo and the area surrounding it.
The recently announced partnership between Alamo Trust, Inc. and USAA is described as a revitalization plan that will help continue to tell the story about the historic 1836 battlefield and surrounding downtown area in San Antonio, Texas. Alamo Trust supports the Alamo Plan, which originated in June 2023 at the encouragement of local and statewide officials and other stakeholders, and includes preserving the 300-year-old church and long barrack.
USAA is sponsoring the revitalization of the Paseo del Alamo, the vital pedestrian corridor connecting the San Antonio River Walk and Alamo Plaza—two of Texas’ most visited destinations, in a city that is known for its deep military roots and once was home to the U.S. Army.
It’s also a project close to the USAA’s origin story, as the company was founded in San Antonio in 1922 by 25 Army officers and to this day employs roughly 16,000 people across the city—approximately half of the city’s workforce.
“The partnership is brand new, and it’s very meaningful for us here at USAA because we’re headquartered in Military City, USA,” Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, USAA’s head of corporate impact, told Military.com. “It’s certainly honoring the military legacy here in our hometown, but it’s also further redeveloping an area of San Antonio that needs it in downtown San Antonio.”
How the Partnership Originated, and Why
The partnership is a natural fit, Saucedo-Herrera said, for multiple reasons.
Not only was the Alamo, part of the San Antonio Missions, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 5, 2015, she noted how San Antonio remains dependent on tourism as “a significant element of the overall makeup.” That military culture and identity includes more than 80,000 active-duty personnel in the market, not to mention a plethora of veterans.
USAA has maintained close conversations with officials at all levels, including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, General Land Office Commissioner Dr. Dawn Buckingham, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (an Air Force veteran), and Alamo Trust President and CEO Esperanza “Hope” Andrade.
“The Alamo shares a rich and deeply connected history with the U.S. military, paving the way for San Antonio to become modern-day Military City USA,” Andrade told Military.com. “It’s a natural fit for the Alamo to partner with USAA, a company that has served the military community for more than a century.
“The Alamo is undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime $700 million effort to transform the historic site into a world-class guest experience. We are incredibly grateful for USAA’s generous donation toward this effort.”
Plans for the opening of a state-of-the art Alamo Visitor Center and Museum are on track for a Spring 2028 grand opening. (Alamo Trust, Inc.)
After all got involved in the multimillion-dollar project, USAA’s joining became a natural segue. USAA’s contribution to this effort is $5 million, and is in addition to the hundreds of millions in state funding.
“We knew that USAA was going to play a role in the redevelopment in some form or fashion,” Saucedo-Herrera said. “But it wasn’t until our CEO Juan Andrade came to San Antonio, got involved, took a tour of the Alamo, and better understood the military legacy and really the army’s legacy there at the Alamo.
“That’s when we really started having conversations about how USAA can celebrate that military legacy at the Alamo, and what that could look like.”
USAA has been involved for roughly six months. It has been revisiting its corporate impact strategies under Andrade’s leadership, be it through advancing economic outcomes and quality of life for military families—or further building a corporate impact strategy through civic engagement.
While cities like San Antonio are home to half the USAA workforce, other military-heavy communities in Phoenix and Tampa are also home to the company.
“For San Antonio, one of those big priorities is economic development, and the revitalization and redevelopment of the Alamo is a big part of that strategy,” Saucedo-Herrera said. “Our CEO has been directly involved. We’ve had conversations with our state leaders, with our local leaders, and we believe that this partnership is really going to catapult the Alamo’s efforts not only to to further fundraise with regards to their capital campaign, but also to finish the project—which is a big priority for Gov. (Greg) Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.”
What Improvement and Revitalization Looks Like
The project is being worked through by USAA and the other involved entities, each contributing their own aspects.
On the USAA side and its emphasis on the Paseo del Rio, Saucedo-Herrera said one can visually picture how the efforts will come to fruition.
USAA is responsible for revitalizing not only the pedestrian corridor connecting the San Antonio River Walk and Alamo Plaza, but will also showcase a new public mural commissioned by a local artist that will celebrate the city’s long military legacy.
USAA will also establish a dedicated onsite military lounge, providing service members and veterans visiting the Alamo with a quiet place to rest, connect, and access valuable financial education resources.
“We’re going to activate the mural as a part of the experience, and then the military lounge component of the partnership will actually be in their visitor center,” she said. “So, it’s right where all the activity is, and hopefully where we will get the most foot traffic for our military service members as well.”
The project timetable remains “fluid,” a USAA spokesperson told Military.com. It is dependent on the permits that the Alamo is obtaining, but all are aiming for the end of the year for the mural and Q1 for the military lounge.
The connector from the Riverwalk to the Alamo is complete. A photo of the blank wall currently remains where the military mural will be located.
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