As a pacesetter in financial improvement for Bexar County, David Marquez’s appreciation for San Antonio has served him properly.
“I really like my metropolis very, very a lot,” Marquez shares on episode 85 of the bigcitysmalltown podcast. “I believe I’m most likely … acquainted with nearly each a part of city that hasn’t been constructed within the final 10 years.”
Marquez joined podcast host Robert Rivard to debate his function as government director of Financial and Neighborhood Growth for Bexar County, a place he has held for the final 27 years.
Marquez is a real San Antonio native. He playfully tells Rivard that he was born, raised, lives and works inside blocks of the downtown space. He says, “I inform individuals, I’m gonna most likely should be buried downtown as a result of the whole lot about me is downtown.”
A graduate of East Central Excessive College, he adopted in his brother and oldsters’ footsteps and started working at Kelly Air Power Base. Employment at Kelly allowed Marquez’s household an opportunity at being center class, and likewise instilled a blue-collar perspective that has helped him over time, he defined.
Fifteen years after graduating highschool, Marquez acquired his bachelor’s diploma from Southwest Texas State College by an schooling program at Kelly. He went on to finish a grasp’s program in city administration at Trinity College.
From there, he discovered his method to working for Bexar County. Within the early 2000s, Marquez was the undertaking supervisor overseeing the constructing and funding of the AT&T Enviornment — now renamed the Frost Financial institution Heart, house to the San Antonio Spurs.
Bexar County initially struck a cope with the basketball staff with the “concept that the Spurs might be profitable on this smaller … media market. That meant giving them an incredible monetary deal, which we did. And you can argue that’s 25 years-plus of success. That’s a reasonably good report.”
“[And] 4 different championships,” Rivard added.
Whereas current talks concerning the development of a downtown sports activities area — referred to as “Challenge Marvel” — have thrown into query the way forward for the Frost Financial institution Heart and the county’s relationship with the Spurs, Marquez identified that together with the Freeman Coliseum, the Frost Financial institution Heart supplies beneficial area for group occasions like graduations and commerce reveals.
Whereas he sees the benefit of a downtown leisure district, Marquez, who stated he has no involvement with “Challenge Marvel,” stated he struggles “with the push to make it occur” and finds it laborious to grasp “how they might craft a greater deal than we gave” to the NBA staff.
All through the dialog, Marquez and Rivard additionally mentioned the connection between San Antonio’s financial system and Mexico’s. “I’d encourage anybody who desires to grasp San Antonio’s interdependence — and the U.S.’s interdependence — with Mexico to go all the way down to Laredo” to view how commerce is positively affecting the town, Marquez stated.
With many issues on the horizon, Marquez stated he’s ending the yr trying towards a hopeful future for Bexar County.
Take heed to episode 85 of the bigcitysmalltown podcast beneath.
