May 19th GENA Meeting Recap

Thanks to everyone who attended the May 19th, 2025 GENA meeting! What a great showing from the neighborhood!

We had a presentation from Bill Bunch of Save our Springs (SOS) Alliance on the proposed MOPAC South extension project. SOS is opposed to this expansion due to the large financial and environmental cost yet minimal benefit to commuting times, and has asked GENA to also sign on in opposition. You can find out more about the project and how to support their efforts at https://www.keepmopaclocal.org/

We were also joined by Amos Lowe of ABGB and Drew Raffaele of the Drenner Group to answer questions about the proposed re-zoning of the ABGB property at 1305 W Oltorf from CS (commercial only) to CS-V (mixed used commercial + residential). Amos was candid with us in sharing that ever increasing property taxes have made it difficult to operate ABGB and that he is looking to diversify the options of what he can do with the land. He also emphasized that ABGB is still open! and that ABGB is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. The case will be heard by the planning commission on June 10th. GENA has expressed concerns about residential usage of that property particularly given it is in a flood plain. We will keep y’all updated as the case moves forward.

Thanks again everyone for your support! If you have any further questions or comments, please reach out to Patty at president@gena.org.