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10-STORY OFFICE BUILDING PLANNED FOR LOWER BROADWAY AREA

By Richard Webner

Pearl developer Silver Ventures plans to build a 10-story office tower with retail shops on the ground floor at the complex’s entrance, contributing to the urban renaissance that city planners are trying to foster in the lower Broadway corridor.

The 3.1-acre development, which would take up nearly the entire block at the northwest corner of Broadway and Pearl Parkway in Tobin Hill, is still in early planning stages, Silver Ventures spokeswoman Elizabeth Fauerso said. The developers have decided not to add multifamily housing because several new apartment buildings have recently been built nearby and there’s high demand for office space.

“To invest in the Broadway corridor as a commercial corridor, in addition to being a residential corridor, is important to the long-term viability of this neighborhood,” Fauerso said. Building office space will create “a great neighborhood that survives and thrives through different market trends.”

At 10 stories, the development will tower over the midrise apartment buildings on lower Broadway. Plans submitted to the city indicate that its highest occupied floor will be 150 feet up and that its highest architectural feature will be at 195 feet.

It will be among the tallest buildings at the Pearl, where the Cellars at Pearl apartment tower under construction along the River Walk will have about 10 stories when complete. Developers hope it will encourage the construction of more tall buildings on lower Broadway, Fauerso said, restoring the corridor to the “vibrant central artery” that it was in its heyday when the Pearl Brewery was running.

“We hope that the density pushes out, extends north and south,” she said. “It should feel like a really easy thing to stroll from the Pearl to the (DoSeum) children’s museum. In 10 years, I hope that we’re in that situation.”

The city Zoning Commission will vote Tuesday on Silver Venture’s request to rezone the 3.1 acres to allow for the project. It will go before the Historic and Design Review Commission on Dec. 2.

Silver Ventures hasn’t yet decided whether it will develop the project on its own or take on a partner, Fauerso said. The office space will be class A, and a parking garage will be incorporated into the development.

The retail aspect of the project is “up in the air,” Fauerso said. “Nothing’s off the table.”

The project has the support of Cody Doege, president of the Tobin Hill Community Association, who said he’s glad the neighborhood will get more office space. He wants lower Broadway to become more urban, and he doesn’t think the tower would affect the neighborhood’s less dense residential areas.

“Silver Ventures has been a great neighbor,” he said. “We have always embraced what they brought to the table.”

Rose Hill, president of the neighborhood association for nearby Government Hill, is also supportive. She noted that the development would bring jobs to the area.

“Government Hill is booming” thanks to the Pearl, said Hill, a longtime resident of the area. “There’s new development, new restaurants going up. ... It’s brought a lot of different cultures to the area and a lot of diversity.”

The lower Broadway corridor has become one of San Antonio’s premier growth areas since Silver Ventures rehabilitated the vacant Pearl Brewery into a mixed-use complex about a decade ago. It has spawned midrise apartment complexes such as 1800 Broadway and the Rivera Luxury Apartments, which opened in September on the other side of Interstate 35 from the Pearl. The opening of the DoSeum last year and the ongoing expansion of the Witte Museum have also raised Broadway’s profile.

Broadway is being primed for more growth. GrayStreet Partners, a local developer that is doing big things downtown, has amassed nearly 4 acres of property on both sides of the corridor between Casa Blanca Street and the 1800 Broadway apartment building. It recently demolished a building at Broadway and Newell for an as-yet-unplanned retail project.

The Pearl itself is growing fast. The complex recently celebrated the opening of its first music venue, Jazz TX, as well as a new wine bar. Condé Nast Traveler just named the luxurious Hotel Emma the No. 1 hotel in Texas and No. 3 in the United States in its 2016 Reader’s Choice Awards. A food hall is expected to open next spring, and the Cellars at Pearl apartment tower is taking shape.

The city is working on infrastructure improvements around the Pearl to prepare for more residential growth. Last summer, the City Council approved a request by Silver Ventures to close Schiller Street and part of Easy Quincy Street near the River Walk to make room for more growth. Silver Ventures owns almost 3 acres of land on the undeveloped western bank of the San Antonio River.

Fauerso said Friday that Silver Ventures will concentrate on the office tower before turning to other projects, but she noted that the riverside properties would be well-suited for multifamily.

The site of the proposed office tower is now occupied by the Stay Golden Social House bar, a parking lot and two vacant buildings. It’s too early in the planning process to say whether Stay Golden will be forced to move, Fauerso said. Sam’s Burger Joint at Grayson Street and Avenue B won’t be affected, she said.

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