TxA26: TOUR | The Soto & Make Ready Food Hall - TxA26

The Soto & Make Ready Food Hall

Explore The Soto and Make Ready Food Hall, two projects that have helped shape the evolution of the Cavender neighborhood, a walkable mixed-use microdistrict adjacent to downtown San Antonio. This guided walking tour examines how mass timber construction, adaptive reuse, hospitality, and thoughtful placemaking can work together to create an authentic neighborhood rooted in local history while supporting future growth.

The tour begins at The Soto, Texas' first mass timber office building and one of the first projects in North America to combine a mass timber structural system with a traditional masonry façade. Participants will hear from the design team about the building's innovative dowel-laminated timber (DLT) structure, flexible workplace design, underfloor air distribution system, and high-performance strategies, while learning how the project established a new model for sustainable commercial development.

From there, the tour continues to Make Ready Food Hall, where a collection of former auto repair buildings has been thoughtfully adapted into a vibrant culinary destination. Participants will explore how preserving existing structures, introducing inviting outdoor gathering spaces, and curating local food vendors has created an active public realm that reinforces neighborhood identity and strengthens connections between people and place.

Together, these projects demonstrate how architecture, adaptive reuse, and landscape can transform underutilized commercial properties into a connected, mixed-use neighborhood that supports local businesses, encourages walkability, and creates lasting civic value.