Magik Theatre, San Antonio’s skilled kids’s theater within the historic Hemisfair District, says ongoing metropolis building alongside South Alamo Road has considerably impacted ticket gross sales over the previous two years, inflicting the group to chop workers.
Because the South Alamo venture continues effectively previous its authentic completion date, the theater has struggled to take care of its operations, in response to Mel Zarb-Cousin, Magik’s managing director. She stated the theater has laid off 4 of its 21 workers in latest months and expects to usher in $300,000 lower than initially projected for the yr.
“We’ve already made an insane quantity of cuts,” she stated. “We’ve minimize our new play growth. We’ve needed to eradicate bringing any out-of-town artists or designers, doing every part in-house, reducing some deliberate infrastructure upgrades and technological upgrades. Workers needed to begin contributing to medical health insurance, we minimize among the parking advantages. Reduce, minimize, minimize.”
For households like Taylor Baxter-Kulhmey’s, the development has additionally modified the expertise of attending exhibits at Magik. Baxter-Kulhmey and her 4-year-old son, Knox, are frequent patrons. She describes the theater as a protected and interesting area for her son, who’s autistic.
Nevertheless, accessing the theater has turn into more and more troublesome. The parking zone — positioned close to the Fairmount Resort and La Villita — has been impacted by the continuing building, making it tougher for friends to reach.
“It’s an enormous ache,” Baxter-Kulmey stated. “You used to have the ability to simply park proper down the road on the nook in a type of parking heaps, however now you must park within the Hemisphere storage and stroll by means of the park to get to the theater.”
Whereas she stated the stroll is price it for her and her son, she understands why others could not really feel the identical.
“I can undoubtedly see how the development would negatively impression Magik.”
Magik Theatre’s attendance had been steadily recovering following the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning with the 2021–2022 season. However as a consequence of building disruptions in the course of the 2024–2025 season, the theater is projecting a drop of practically 8,000 patrons.
The South Alamo Road venture, launched as a part of the town’s 2017 bond program, started building in 2022. It goals to revamp the stretch between Market Road and Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, with upgrades to utilities, sidewalks and drainage programs.
Initially, the town deliberate to finish the work by winter 2024, forward of the NCAA Males’s Ultimate 4 video games held earlier this month. Nevertheless, delays have repeatedly pushed the timeline again.
A significant dispute between the Metropolis of San Antonio and the San Antonio Water System final yr over who ought to fund the alternative of century-old sewer and water traces led to compromises. To fulfill the Ultimate 4 deadline, officers determined to patch the sewer system and go away the getting older water primary in place, quickly paving the realm and planning to renew work after the event.
In line with the town’s SASpeakUp web site, the venture is now anticipated to be accomplished in spring 2026. The whole price of highway upgrades to this point is about $48 million.
In a written assertion, the town stated its Public Works Division meets repeatedly with Magik Theatre workers to maintain them knowledgeable on the venture’s progress.
“The ultimate product might be a greater, extra pedestrian-friendly South Alamo that can profit all companies alongside the hall. The just lately accomplished Decrease Broadway venture is an instance of how these initiatives can rework a roadway,” the assertion stated.
Town additionally famous its ongoing assist for the theater. It owns the Magik Theatre constructing and leases it rent-free, along with subsidizing chilled water utilization. Magik obtained $2.75 million for capital enhancements within the 2022 bond, in addition to funding within the 2012 bond. For the 2025 fiscal yr, the town allotted $312,987 in operational assist and a $15,000 manufacturing grant from its Arts and Tradition Fund.
Regardless of this help, Zarb-Cousin stated the theater continues to be dealing with vital monetary strain. To generate extra income, Magik is mounting a summer season manufacturing of “Dragons Love Tacos.”
She additionally famous the theater plans to use for one of many metropolis’s building mitigation grants of as much as $35,000 when the functions open in Could. Town just lately expanded eligibility for these grants to incorporate nonprofits like Magik that rely upon foot visitors or ticket gross sales, after Zarb-Cousin reached out to Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1).
That modification, launched by Kaur, was accredited by the Metropolis Council two weeks in the past.
Since 2020, San Antonio has distributed practically $60 million in help to assist small companies impacted by the pandemic and metropolis building initiatives. These grants have been created throughout COVID and have since expanded to incorporate construction-related disruptions. In 2023 alone, the town spent $400,000 on signage and different mitigation efforts, and partnered with LiftFund to supply $8 million in loans. A brand new $185,000 contract with LiftFund was accredited final week for extra grant distribution in 2025.
Building disruptions have been a persistent difficulty in District 1. Delays and frustrations tied to the North St. Mary’s Strip venture was thought-about a consider former Councilman Mario Bravo’s 2023 election loss to Kaur.
Simply final week, longtime Public Works Director Razi Hosseini introduced he would retire in September, amid continued criticism of the town’s dealing with of main infrastructure initiatives.
Councilwoman Kaur urged the neighborhood to assist the theater throughout this troublesome time, highlighting its upcoming bilingual manufacturing, “Lotería, Recreation On!,” which runs from Could 3 by means of Could 31.
“I might love if everybody was capable of take their youngsters to a present,” she stated. “It’s an unimaginable expertise.”
