The Historic and Design Review Commission took multiple actions Wednesday on the city’s first pilot of digital media and arts displays, granting conceptual or conditional approvals for several proposed wall-mounted screens while asking for additional design detail or denying one location staff found visible from the River Walk.

Why it matters: The pilot program is intended to test how programmable digital displays can be integrated into downtown San Antonio as public-art and wayfinding platforms. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized the program’s experimental nature and urged higher design standards for early installations to set the precedent for later proposals.

Summary of key outcomes (by application):
- 100 & 6 South St. Mary’s (applicant Capital Outdoor / Killen Griffin & Fairmont): Conceptual approval granted; design team reduced size and recessed the sign to improve integration with the building facade. Commissioners requested shop/profile drawings and a site visit to confirm River Walk visibility. (Roll-call: Commission carried the motion.)

- Staybridge Suites (I‑37 frontage): Approved as presented after DRC revisions; commissioners asked the applicant to keep spacing and detailing appropriate to the façade and submit final profile drawings for permitting.

- 451 Soledad (two façades): Commission conceptually approved the south façade treatment and asked for additional design development on the north façade; stipulation added that neither sign be visible from the River Walk level. (Motion passed with conditions.)

- 421 West Market (OutFront Media / GRG Architecture): Commissioners split the application; the commission approved one display conceptually and sent a second, more intrusive display back to DRC for further design work so it better relates to the building’s vertical rhythm.

- 412 East Commerce (two-corner proposal): Staff recommended approving the Southwest corner installation and rejecting the Northeast corner because staff found it visible from the River Walk. The commission denied the Northeast corner and approved the Southwest corner as recommended.

What commissioners said: Commissioners repeatedly asked applicants to treat the displays as public-art projects, not billboards, and to return with detailed mounting and profile drawings. Commissioner Velasquez urged applicants to treat these first approvals as standard-setters: "...because y'all are the first," he told applicants, "it is very important that you hear that we appreciate that you listened, but that every detail of this thing should be approached in the spirit of what the pilot is, which is as a, as an art project."

Staff direction and next steps: Several approvals were conceptual or conditional. Staff and applicants were instructed to provide detailed shop drawings, line-of-sight analyses from the River Walk where requested, and final profile/shop drawings before permits are issued. For at least one site staff will require a site visit to confirm visibility from the River Walk prior to permit issuance.

Ending: Commissioners approved a number of pilot installations but made clear that final permitting will depend on detailed drawings, riverfront visibility checks and, in some cases, additional design work at DRC. The early approvals create a precedent the commission said must emphasize artistic integration and careful facade detailing rather than billboard-style displays.