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-   -   SAN ANTONIO │ Villita Street Tower │ 284 FEET | 24 FLOORS │ Pending (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=220995)

babysal Feb 10, 2016 5:43 PM

SAN ANTONIO │ Villita Street Tower │ 284 FEET | 24 FLOORS │ Pending
 
Dallas-based JMJ Development LLC plans to break ground this summer on a 30-story luxury apartment tower along the River Walk in downtown San Antonio.
The tower, named JMJ Towers River Walk, will have 201 luxury apartments and upscale restaurant and retail space, according to a news release from the developer. It will be at 120 Villita Street, across from the Riverwalk Plaza Hotel & Suites.



By RICHARD WEBNER

February 10, 2016 10:51 AM

Link to article:

http://mysanantonio.com/business/loc...#photo-9376851

ILUVSAT Feb 10, 2016 6:03 PM

Great news!!! Hope it comes to be. Interesting that the news gets out here but JMJ does not mention it anywhere on its website.

texboy Feb 10, 2016 6:47 PM

Excellent news for SA! Also good to see that the 24 story Hilton received the go-ahead from HDRC!

The Model Feb 10, 2016 7:45 PM

Wow, were going to have some cranes going up soon!!!!

Paul in S.A TX Feb 10, 2016 8:11 PM

This project will be next to the Tower life.

When are the renderings for the Frost Bank going to be released?

jaga185 Feb 10, 2016 10:23 PM

Wow. That's extremely surprising, I wonder how the approval process will work with that height at the corner like that. Except the Granada is there and cause much to the north. They my have something to say for the shadow in the morning.

Spoiler Feb 10, 2016 11:51 PM

Hopefully this is only the beginning for that very empty stretch of river.

Paul in S.A TX Feb 11, 2016 12:34 AM

When I was in elementary school (1980's)there were plans for a condo tower called the Riverton on that same corner but it was never built.

necropolis Feb 11, 2016 2:36 AM

I read in the article that the city is looking into whether the project can house affordable units. I'm all for having mixed units but if the building is described as luxury apartments then let it be. There can be other options for affordable housing elsewhere. I personally think the city's focus should be less on making developers include affordable units and more on recruiting jobs that are more than call center or back office operations. San Antonio can't tout it's cheap labor and then get upset when new developments require more than minimum wage to live there, especially when development costs might be generating that. That's a problem to be fixed by increased education and better job recruitment.

Enough with that rant but I'd hate for a self-described luxury building to start turning to less than market rate units and take away from something we only have a handful of, luxury high rise residential building. Hopefully the timeline of a summer groundbreaking stays on track. This could be an exciting next 2-3 years of downtown skyline changes!

Fireoutofclay Feb 11, 2016 3:16 AM





Quote:

A 30-story luxury apartment tower is planned along the River Walk, giving San Antonio one of its biggest triumphs so far in its 5-year-old Decade of Downtown initiative to revive the city’s center.

Dallas-based JMJ Development LLC plans to break ground this summer on the tower, named JMJ Towers River Walk, which is expected to cost more than $50 million and take about 2½ years to finish, said Tim Barton, chief executive of the real estate firm.

The development, on Villita Street across from the Riverwalk Plaza Hotel & Suites, will have 201 luxury apartments, upscale restaurants and retail space, according to a news release from JMJ.

Barton said the firm considered building a hotel there but decided on apartments after perceiving “pent-up demand” among both baby boomers who crave a more urban lifestyle after raising their kids as well as millennials who don’t want to commit to buying homes.


“San Antonio doesn’t have any high-rise products or lifestyle products, so we feel it’s a great opportunity,” Barton said in an interview. “There’s still growth in the market as people start to do better and better.”

The building will likely have a stone facade on the street level to blend with the local architecture, while the higher floors will have a more modern, glassy design, Barton said. JMJ and city officials are still working out the design, he said.

“The skyline of San Antonio is truly unique — we want more of that,” said District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño, whose district would include the tower.

The tower would remold San Antonio’s skyline, which has been stagnant since the Grand Hyatt San Antonio opened in 2008. Only three buildings in the city would be taller: the 38-story Marriott Rivercenter, the 34-story Grand Hyatt and the 32-story Weston Centre. It will be as high as the Tower Life Building and the San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk.

News of the tower comes a week after the Historic and Design Review Commission gave conditional approval for a 24-story boutique Hilton hotel a few blocks away. The city recently finished a $325 million expansion of the Convention Center which they expect to serve as a springboard for downtown redevelopment.

Other new building projects are in the works for downtown. Last spring, the city reached a deal with Weston Urban and Frost Bank to build the first new office tower downtown in more than 25 years. Another project would add 41 apartment units to the downtown Aztec building. City Council also recently approved a 163-unit apartment complex for Hemisfair.

The JMJ apartment tower project shows that “San Antonio is on the map for residential development, and in the heart of downtown,” said Pat DiGiovanni, president and CEO of Centro San Antonio. “We have not seen anything to this degree in a long time, so this is welcome news.”

The project is likely to draw close scrutiny due to its size and its location along the River Walk, DiGiovanni added.

JMJ is working on a deal to buy the 0.35-acre property, which doesn’t have historical designation and has been vacant for some time, Barton said. The apartments will be a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with top floor penthouse suites, a fitness area and a swimming pool. The units will rent from around $1,500 to $3,000 a month, he said.

The firm plans to ask for incentives under the city’s Center City Housing Incentive Policy — adopted in 2012 as part of the Decade of Downtown — which includes property tax rebates for up to 15 years, SAWS and city fee waivers, and low-interest loans.

One of Treviño’s concerns is whether the tower will include affordable housing. Barton said he’s been talking with city officials about including lower-cost units.

“We want to create places where everybody can afford to live,” Treviño said. “I think that is going to be part of what we’re looking at — can we explore getting some affordable spaces in this project?”

The tower will be JMJ’s second project in the San Antonio area. In 2008, it began construction on Kings Gate, a $25 million, 870-acre gated community in Medina County. Barton said his firm is “studying” other potential sites in San Antonio.

JMJ has also built master-planned communities in Nashville and Frisco, north of Dallas, according to its website. It has developed projects outside of the U.S., such as the Rosewood Mayakoba resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and the Rosewood Dubai hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.


UrbanTrance Feb 11, 2016 4:43 AM

Can't wait!

Onward Feb 11, 2016 6:14 AM

Wow, this one came out of thin air. Cant wait to see the design. That's a great area for a project like this.

sakyle04 Feb 11, 2016 2:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireoutofclay (Post 7331557)
while the higher floors will have a more modern, glassy design

*rubs eyes, reads again, shakes head, rubs eyes, reads again...*

GoldenBoot Feb 11, 2016 3:19 PM

"The firm plans to ask for incentives under the city’s Center City Housing Incentive Policy — adopted in 2012 as part of the Decade of Downtown — which includes property tax rebates for up to 15 years, SAWS and city fee waivers, and low-interest loans.

'One of Treviño’s concerns is whether the tower will include affordable housing. Barton said he’s been talking with city officials about including lower-cost units.

'We want to create places where everybody can afford to live,' Treviño said. 'I think that is going to be part of what we’re looking at — can we explore getting some affordable spaces in this project?'"



This is a bit concerning...

jaga185 Feb 11, 2016 3:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot (Post 7332061)
This is a bit concerning...

Why concerning? I think a mix of affordable and market could work. Especially if you keep market on the top floors so they are worth it.

JACKinBeantown Feb 11, 2016 5:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireoutofclay (Post 7331557)
The building will likely have a stone facade on the street level to blend with the local architecture, while the higher floors will have a more modern, glassy design, Barton said.


Hopefully it will look more like this:

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/images/...r_E97T0769.jpg
http://www.e-architect.co.uk/images/...r_E97T0769.jpg


And less like this:

http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.co...560_340_c1.jpg
http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com

sirkingwilliam Feb 11, 2016 7:20 PM

It will look like neither of those buildings.

JACKinBeantown Feb 11, 2016 7:31 PM

i just meant the quality of architecture.

sirkingwilliam Feb 11, 2016 7:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown (Post 7332540)
i just meant the quality of architecture.

Oh, yes. I have to assume it'll have a very high quality design, considering the developer. The Grand is the result of it being city funded and them going the design/build route and choosing the least costliest option.

ILUVSAT Feb 11, 2016 9:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaga185 (Post 7332088)
Why concerning? I think a mix of affordable and market could work. Especially if you keep market on the top floors so they are worth it.

I don't think he/she meant it in that manner. I believe the thought was that this development could get tied up (at least a bit) in the approval process since the developer is seeking incentives and the city wants affordable housing.

More affordable housing is a good thing. However, unless incentives completely offset the potential revenue, the more units of affordable housing included in a project could affect the cost of the "market rate" units (i.e., increasing their cost). The project has to be economically viable for the developer and his/her equity partners.

Another area in which the developer could cut costs and still remain economically viable is in overall design (this assumes the developer did not receive enough incentives while still including affordable units and keeping the cost of market rate units down).


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