Posted May 25, 2007, 7:19 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
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Downtown classic gets a makeover
Web Posted: 05/25/2007 01:47 AM CDT
Rachel Stone
Express-News Business Writer
Plans are under way to reuse a historic downtown building for a boutique hotel.
The former Neisner Department Store at East Houston Street and Broadway has not housed a business since the Antique Sampler store moved out in 1991.
Dallas-based Baruch Properties bought the 57,000-square-foot building in 2003.
The building is under contract for sale to a San Antonio-based hotelier, said Craig Glendenning, president of Post Oak Development, which partners with Baruch.Glendenning declined to identify the potential buyer, but said: "They have existing hotels in downtown."
The mystery buyer has hired 3D/International Parsons Architecture in San Antonio to create the initial interior and exterior structural renovation plans for the hotel, even before taking ownership of the building.
The plans have gotten preliminary approval from the Historic Design and Review Commission, and a final plan could be presented to the commission this summer.The design calls for adding two stories to the five-story structure, which also has a basement, said Andrés Andújar of 3D/I Parsons. The project's lead architect is Ignacio Aliaga.
Baruch Properties originally planned to convert the Neisner building into condos with shops or a restaurant at street level.
But renovating a historic structure is time-consuming and generally a pain, and the condo idea never took off, Glendenning said.
Historic renovations also can be prohibitively expensive, which is partly why so many of the new downtown condo projects are new construction.
Such renovation projects often are more attractive for hotel developments, which can recoup bigger profits on their investment than condos.
The new hotel plans call for part of the Neisner's interior floors on the west side of the building to be removed to create a large atrium space from the basement to the ceiling. A basement courtyard would include a pool and fitness center.
All together, the hotel would have fewer than 150 guest rooms and very little meeting space.
Most downtown hotels allow for as much as 7,000 square feet of meeting space, Andújar said.
This buyer wants to focus on high-end service instead of meetings, he said.
"They think downtown San Antonio has enough strength in that area so they want to provide strong service on the rooms side of the house," Andújar said.
"I certainly appreciate the clarity of their strategy."
The building's existing entry would serve as the hotel's entrance.
"That's important because we think the way the building faces the street is critical," Andújar said.
"It's viewing distance to Alamo Plaza."
The building's exterior also will be renovated, but not much work is needed, he said.
Most of the windows will be replaced to provide energy efficiency and soundproofing, but the façade is in good shape.
The 1945 building originally was designed by Atlee B. Ayres, a prominent San Antonio architect known for designing commercial buildings, courthouses and private homes, such as the one that is now the McNay Art Museum.
The Neisner Department Store, which many San Antonio residents remember for the basement pet shop that was famous for its chimpanzees, closed in the 1980s.
The Antique Sampler store moved into the building in 1987, but relocated when the air-conditioning gave out in 1991, according to Express-News archives.
Car dealer Curtis Gunn Jr. bought the building in 1993. Gunn, a Witte Museum board member at the time, donated the building to the museum.
The museum used it for storage until Baruch bought it four years ago.
The Neisner is one of a few downtown buildings that have been tapped for boutique hotels recently.
Hotel Indigo, which is a boutique brand from InterContinental Hotels Group, is transforming the 97-year-old Gibbs building at Alamo and Houston streets into a 91-room hotel.
Also, a developer got approval last year to renovate the Kress building, near East Houston and Jefferson streets, for reuse as a hotel.
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