Volunteer organization STAR (Students Together Achieving Revitalization) and the Office of Historic Preservation recently finished renovations to 16 houses in the Knob Hill Historic District. Upon the completion of the project, Councilwoman Ivy Taylor paid a visit to thank the volunteers, saying that their efforts made up “one piece of the puzzle that provides real solutions to address revitalization efforts of the city.”
According to the San Antonio Express-News, approximately 150 students from both the San Antonio College and the University of Texas at San Antonio's College of Architecture took part in this project. Together, they repaired sidings, doors, roofs, and windows in San Antonio's historic East Side district. Their joint efforts were welcomed with joy and appreciation by the local community.
Homeowners can thank the dean of UTSA's architecture school and Shannon Miller, director of San Antonio's Historic Preservation office, as it was their initiatives in 2010 that started the whole project. The STAR program developed after they called on students of Sue Ann Pemberton, a senior lecturer at the architecture school, to fix a historic home that was due for demolition. Since then, they have organized projects in the Dignowity Hill, Tobin Hill, and Government Hill historic districts as well as the Five Point neighborhood.
Pemberton's students continue to look forward to participating in future projects. In fact, this year's program saw more volunteers, with some even pitching in longer than required. Moreover, local contractors joined in on the fun, providing expert advice on San Antonio replacement windows, sidings, and other aspects of renovation. Pemberton noted that the program is “a great way to generate leaders.”
Volunteer contractor Felix Ziga commented, “It's educational for them, and we get to help the community.” Students who are involved in this program, particularly those taking up architecture, can greatly benefit from this working experience. By participating, they not only learn how to do construction work. They also gain knowledge on the right types of home improvement materials to use—not to mention which accredited contractors, such as Southwest Exteriors, to get these from.
In renovating or refurbishing the exterior of a home, equal importance should be placed on the actual physical work and the planning that goes into it. Sometimes, the end-goals of a project should be just as valued. As The STAR program shows, it is well and good to renovate a home—but it might be better if, in doing so, one also revitalizes a city.