Two years ago, the East Side community came together to fight for a little plot of land known as Healy-Murphy Park. In 2007, lobbyist Walter Serna contacted District 2 Councilwoman Sheila McNeil on behalf of a local developer who had noticed that the scant acre was essentially a trash bin used primarily by homeless men. Their proposal: turn it into an extension of their nearby hotel.
McNeil helped Serna and the developer — La Villita del Rio Development — push a plan intended to appeal to the City and comply with state law regarding the sale of parks. The profit the City would make from the deal could be be used to improve another nearby eyesore: the 1.7 acres that BudCo donated to the City in 2007 as part of the effort to turn an old railroad crossing bridge into a bike and pedestrian conduit between the historic Dignowity Hill neighborhood and downtown.
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