Zachry Hospitality is an affiliate of Zachry Construction.

After narrowing in on the 11 responses it received, the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation has made the proposal submitted by Zachry Hospitality LLC and The NRP Group its top choice and will now take the next step toward finalizing the urban park's second public-private partnership.

The joint proposal from the two San Antonio firms would be to develop two parcels encompassing five acres in the northwest quadrant of the park — right at the corner of South Alamo and South Market — with the potential uses included new shops, restaurants and 380 residential units next to approximately nine acres of green space.

While it is avoiding any specifics, HPARC CEO Andres Andujar told me the proposal includes 800,000 gross square feet, which includes those residential units along with 75,000 square feet of retail; 70,000 square feet of office; a boutique hotel; and plenty of public parking.

The value of the mixed-use development would be $165 million.

NRP and Zachry's joint bid was submitted along with 10 others following HPARC's issuance of a request for qualifications in March 2015. Those were then narrowed down to four submissions, which also included Dallas-based Cambridge Holdings Inc., Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. and San Antonio-based Lynd Co.

Following its invitation to respond to request for proposals, HPARC then narrowed the list to the NRP-Zachry joint submission as well as one from Cambridge. With the help of a panel including Williams and Dame Development's Homer Williams, USAA Real Estate Co.'s Bruce Petersen, and Page Architects' Larry Speck, HPARC scored the proposals based on their development expertise, design, financial returns to HPARC and their compatibility with the park's master plan.

With the higher score, Zachry and NRP emerged as the winner.

Similar to the first public-private partnership agreement the committee made with AREA Real Estate in December, the committee's selection will need to get final approval from the city council. For now, Zachry and NRP will enter into negotiations with HPARC, and approval of a final development agreement is expected to be made sometime later this year.

"The grading was based on the best overall proposal based on suitability to the environment and park," Andujar said. "Having locals on the project is an added benefit in these particular two instances, but the proposals came from across the country."