{"id":219572,"date":"2026-03-25T10:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219572\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T10:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:49:10","slug":"meet-hemisfairs-new-ceo-melissa-robinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219572\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Hemisfair’s new CEO Melissa Robinson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The winding path of Melissa Robinson\u2019s professional life is not unlike the tree-lined sidewalks that park visitors tread from the gathering spaces at Aro de Abrazos through Civic Park to the water features and play area of Hemisfair<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Robinson was named CEO of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation in March, having served on the leadership team since 2022, and previously as a member of the HPARC board of directors.<\/p>\n

She succeeded HPARC\u2019s first CEO Andres Andujar<\/a>, the man who led the park\u2019s development from 2011 to 2025, during which the city worked to transform Hemisfair from an overlooked and neglected former world\u2019s fair site to a burgeoning urban park with green space, residential development and more recently a luxury hotel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During that time, Robinson said her own path to Hemisfair was being drawn less by intention than a personal trait for wonder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look back sometimes in my career, and [think], wow, what an amazing, natural progression that I really didn\u2019t have any hand in particularly scripting,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a testament to my curiosity and lifelong quest for learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The California-born Robinson \u201cfell into\u201d the construction industry, starting out in a temp job as an accounts receivable bookkeeper, then went to work for Granite Construction in Reno, Nev., while in college.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Later, her path led to Zachry Industrial in San Antonio in 2005, where she worked from through 2009 as a financial reporting manager before being laid off during the economic downturn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robinson\u2019s next step took her to \u201cthe other side\u201d of the industry \u2014 real estate development. A role as chief financial officer with the development firm Bitterblue is where she learned commercial real estate development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation\u2019s new CEO Melissa Robinson spoke with the San Antonio Report about the journey that brought her to her new role. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Artessa in The Quarry was, she said, \u201cmy first project that I ever did everything from negotiating a release to picking out the wallpaper,\u201d and it\u2019s also where she learned she had strengths beyond her background in finance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2016, Robinson went to work for the \u201cvery entrepreneurial\u201d Reata Assets, Investments and Development, and later for Pearl as director of finance and accounting real estate. For almost six years after that, Robinson ran her own firm, Duke Development Services.<\/p>\n

While at Reata, Robinson met Andujar during a social event. \u201cA month later, he invited me to be on the board of Hemisfair,\u201d she said. \u201cI actually didn\u2019t know much about the park, other than my daughter was very, very involved in Magik Theater, and I had taken her there many times, and so I remember the wooden playground.\u201d Robinson\u2019s daughter is now a teenager and she also has an adult son.<\/p>\n

In 2022, she transitioned from board member to Hemisfair staff \u2014\u00a0as director of real estate and finance, a role she said suited her perfectly. \u201cIt\u2019s very rare that you get to actually marry your professional acumen, your passion and your quest for learning and provide such a great community benefit,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

Also rare was Robinson\u2019s successful track record in finance combined with experience in real estate development, said Andujar of his reasons for inviting her to join the board and later the Hemisfair executive team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Andujar\u2019s retirement a year ago, she was named interim CEO, overseeing a staff of 12, and has since looked to build on what he started, what he pursued with a passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision isn\u2019t changing,\u201d she said. \u201cI told him the other day, I recognize and I fully understand, I have your heart, this is your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andujar also supported the choice of Robinson as his successor, only the second chief in Hemisfair history.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this transformational time for San Antonio\u2019s urban core, Melissa is the perfect leader as the HPARC CEO with her expertise, strategic vision for further creating one of the world\u2019s great public places, and community-first mindset,\u201d Andujar said.<\/p>\n

HPARC Board Chairwoman Cara DeAnda said in a statement that Robinson\u2019s experience positions her well for the role at a critical time for Hemisfair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Melissa Robinson had previously served as interim CEO for the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation since April 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to her and the team\u2019s commitment to further establishing Hemisfair\u2019s strengths as a world-class urban parks district that is essential to the city\u2019s main tourism, commercial and historic residential areas,\u201d DeAnda said.<\/p>\n

Today, when Robinson is invited to speak to students and young professionals aspiring to a career in development, she reflects on her circuitous path to Hemisfair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know when I\u2019m standing in front of them, they have an impression of me that I maybe had a traditional path, and I tell them that there\u2019s lots of different paths to get to where you want to go,\u201d she said. But, \u201cif you are not naturally curious and a lifelong learner, if you don\u2019t want to learn, then don\u2019t do this for a career.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Robinson, Hemisfair is the centerpiece for San Antonio \u2014 a \u201cgreat public place\u201d that connects the culture, the communities, residents and visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While all eyes are now on Hemisfair\u2019s future as the centerpiece for Project Marvel<\/a> and ground zero for a new Spurs arena, Robinson looks back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For HPARC, \u201cthe big question mark was, what was going to happen on what we call the eastern zone,\u201d she said, and what would happen with the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At one time, a residential development was contemplated for what some call Tower Park, after the Tower of the Americas, a way to bring back some semblance of the neighborhoods razed for the 1968 world\u2019s fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would venture to say that if it weren\u2019t for the great work that HPARC has done in partnership with the city to create what you know as Hemisfair today, that the Spurs probably wouldn\u2019t be too interested or it would be a very different story,\u201d she said. \u201cSo the fact that they want to come down here is great, and that\u2019s a great addition to the park.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Robinson said her favorite thing at Hemisfair is seeing how the community experiences all the different ways there are to use the park, especially connecting with one another. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we built it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The winding path of Melissa Robinson\u2019s professional life is not unlike the tree-lined sidewalks that park visitors tread…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[85657,9637,3081,56829,85658,742,3083,82,84,83,92,93,51321,3440,85659],"class_list":["post-219572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-andres-andujar","tag-civic-park","tag-hemisfair","tag-hemisfair-park-area-redevelopment-corporation","tag-melissa-robinson","tag-pearl","tag-project-marvel","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-top-story","tag-typefeature","tag-utsa-institute-of-texan-cultures","tag-wc-1000-1500","tag-zachry-industrial"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}