Proposed downtown tower seeks final approval with new design
By Mitchell Parton – Reporter, San Antonio Business Journal
Feb 3, 2020, 5:19pm CST
Plans to build an eight-story mixed-use tower near La Villita could move forward this week — with a new design.
The eight-story complex proposed by Austin-based firm Weal Development LLC would be on 1.3 acres of a parking lot at 422 East Nueva St. — just north of the SpringHill Suites by Marriott and near La Villita.
Designed by Mark Odom Studio, the proposal retains the same footprint of the plans approved by the HDRC last March. The updated design includes changes to window layouts, an eighth-floor pool deck as well as a yellow-accented color scheme as opposed to orange.
“We felt that it was more in line with the overall tone of downtown San Antonio,” architect Mark Odom wrote in an email.
With the updated design, the project will now have 252 mixed-income residential units — two more than the March proposal.
The owner is keeping options open for ground-floor tenants, Odom wrote. He said it could fit a co-working space, restaurant, street-side cafe or a combination of several tenants. The apartment complex wraps around an eight-level parking garage, which will be open to the public.
The $65 million project is financed in part by the San Antonio Housing Authority, which approved funding for the project in August. Its one, two and three-bedroom units will all be reserved for families earning 50% of the area median income.
Dallas-based firm Cadence McShane Construction will serve as general contractor for development, which will commence after HDRC approval. The structure will use a cold-form steel construction method.
“As a relatively new method of construction in mid-rise multi-family, this construction type offers a higher quality of construction toward the final product as well as a higher efficiency for unit size, ceiling height, and maximizing space over material,” Odom said.
This is Weal Development’s second project in San Antonio after redeveloping the Steel House Lofts in Southtown. The firm has completed several projects in the Austin area, including three mixed-use commercial developments, a mixed-use apartment complex, an office building, and an event center.