SAN ANTONIO | Urban Core Development Thread

[miaht82]

Existing buildings or not (I'm assuming the'll be using the old school of Aerospace Medicine building), a few more bodies around causing some economic activity in that area won't hurt. I'd prefer a more central location, although activity on the South side of town is a win as well.

[WorldTexas]

Originally Posted by miaht82

Existing buildings or not (I'm assuming the'll be using the old school of Aerospace Medicine building), a few more bodies around causing some economic activity in that area won't hurt. I'd prefer a more central location, although activity on the South side of town is a win as well.

For me, the downtown site made perfect sense as it was literally centered between 4 hospitals, with Fox Tech next door and SAC's health programs up the street.

Does anyone have any insight on why UIW took such an aggressive timeline? That was a lot of money to raise in such a short period. When they announced the project and the timeline, I figured they already had donors lined up.

[cole world11]

Originally Posted by Spoiler

They will use existing buildings at Brooks.

well there we go

[UrbanTrance]

Saw this Wall Street Journal article about downtown San Antonio that mentioned this:

In northwest downtown, workers are at work renovating a 120,000-square-foot, century-old former department store into the new home for Geekdom, a communal workspace for tech professionals, which has 800 members. The building will eventually have a cafe, a rooftop bar, and other amenities "that the geeks want," said Randy Smith. Mr. Smith is the president of Weston Urban, a real-estate development company founded in 2012 that aims to "create the ecosystem for tech entrepreneurialism" in San Antonio, Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Smith co-founded Weston Urban with Graham Weston, a native of San Antonio who is the chairman and chief executive of Rackspace, a cloud-computing company valued at $4.5 billion. Over the next five years, Weston Urban plans to develop a downtown district using four surface lots the group bought last year, along with three buildings it already owns, and by buying other properties. The plan includes 1,000 rental apartments plus restaurants, shops and other businesses designed to create a lively downtown.

and

Mr. Goldsbury then began building a new neighborhood called Pearl. Today it is home to 11 restaurants and bars, a campus of the Culinary Institute of America, and 320 units of rental housing, the bulk of which were completed late last year. Apartments rent at averages of $1.80 a square foot, Mr. Shown said. A Kimpton hotel is under construction, as is high-end rental building The Cellars, where the 124 units will be priced at 40% more a square foot than existing Pearl apartments. The district has room for 1,500 more apartments, said Mr. Shown. But everything, including future apartments, is for rent.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...087595710.html

[Keep-SA-Lame]

Originally Posted by Alice93

Over the next five years, Weston Urban plans to develop a downtown district using four surface lots the group bought last year, along with three buildings it already owns, and by buying other properties. The plan includes 1,000 rental apartments plus restaurants, shops and other businesses designed to create a lively downtown.

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by Alice93

Saw this Wall Street Journal article about downtown San Antonio that mentioned this:



and



http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...087595710.html

How interesting that the Pearl district now has room for 1,500 more units when that number used to be 800. Demand is really growing.

[texboy]

San Antonio will be the next market to take off in terms of high rise construction and job market boom. The bones are there, the want is there. The couple that took a day trip to SA while visiting Austin and decided on SA over Austin will be the rule and not the exception within the next 5 years.

[sirkingwilliam]

There's some really awesome news in the River North thread.

[Sean1187]

I really wish they could turn that lot (SAHA owned land) at Brooklyn and St. Mary's into a park. I know it won't generate the revenue like apartments/lofts or offices, but I'd like to at least keep some green space along the river. I'm not asking for anything fancy, just grass and trees. A place where people can hold events or do whatever right next to the river.

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by Sean1187

I really wish they could turn that lot (SAHA owned land) at Brooklyn and St. Mary's into a park. I know it won't generate the revenue like apartments/lofts or offices, but I'd like to at least keep some green space along the river. I'm not asking for anything fancy, just grass and trees. A place where people can hold events or do whatever right next to the river.

SAHA land is likely to become housing, and I would love to see some subsidized housing go there before all of River North becomes a neighborhood for the rich. However, I have seen plans for the lot across Jones from SAMA to become some sort of plaza/sculpture garden/public outdoor space, and I think that would be dandy. Also don't forget about Maverick Park, about a block away, which looks like it will end up being very nice when surrounded by housing, unlike now when it is surrounded by nothing.

[WorldTexas]

Another big name is looking at downtown - Transwestern.

Rents in S.A. hit record high
By Valentino Lucio

...
And taking a crack at multifamily development, Transwestern is looking for a spot downtown to build an apartment community, said Larry Mendez, executive managing director for the real estate firm.

Multiple sources with knowledge of Transwestern's plans said it has interest in a vacant lot at Probandt and Cevallos streets, across from La Tuna Grill. Mendez, however, wouldn't confirm that.

“We like downtown,” he said. “We're big believers. And we've got some big stuff coming.”

Read more: http://www.expressnews.com/real-esta...gh-5446912.php

[Spoiler]

Holy cow, they're gonna move the old Liberty Bar building.
http://www.sanantonio.gov/historic/D..._Josephine.pdf

[sirkingwilliam]

One has to wonder... They also want to relocate the house behind it. Basically, they want to open up the entire lot. I wonder if the adjacent parking lot to the south is in play as well. That's be an entire block open to develop, which is where I think this is heading.

Considering who owns the Josephine Street house now and where it's being located to (The Pearl), I'd say this will be a Pearl development.

[jaga185]

Don't get your hopes up guys. They are trying move it yes, but it will be turned into a parking lot. It said so in today's paper. Sad day.

[Bigfoot Yancey]

Originally Posted by WorldTexas

Another big name is looking at downtown - Transwestern.

I saw a zoning commission doc that someone is asking for 110 units per acre at the slab across from la tuna (4 or 6 contiguous lots along Cevallos and Clay.) that number would mean something big, would have to be above the 4-5 story types.

See page 3.

https://webapps1.sanantonio.gov/dsdd...y%20Report.pdf

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by jaga185

Don't get your hopes up guys. They are trying move it yes, but it will be turned into a parking lot. It said so in today's paper. Sad day.

I'm hearing it'll be used temporarily as surface parking. How long temporary is, is not known.

[WorldTexas]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot Yancey

I saw a zoning commission doc that someone is asking for 110 units per acre at the slab across from la tuna (4 or 6 contiguous lots along Cevallos and Clay.) that number would mean something big, would have to be above the 4-5 story types.

See page 3.

https://webapps1.sanantonio.gov/dsdd...y%20Report.pdf

It says the new zoning would allow for up to 110 units per acre. That's 3x the density of Hemisview, 4x Cevallos, and 40% more then 1800 Broadway. Could they get that much density approved at the site as it abuts single-family properties?

Per BCAD a property group owns 2.4 acres there. At 110 units per acre they'd be able to plop down 265 apartments on that site. I think there's enough demand to fill that, but is it structurally/economically feasible? How high would they have to go to reach that number?

They should also build a cross street linking Cevallos and Clay. That's a REALLY long block.

[WorldTexas]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

I'm hearing it'll be used temporarily as surface parking. How long temporary is, is not known.

I think temporary is probably right. That'a a very small amount of parking you get in return for all the trouble of moving the house.

They wouldn't go through that unless there was a bigger long term goal.

[jman3000]

Originally Posted by WorldTexas

I think temporary is probably right. That'a a very small amount of parking you get in return for all the trouble of moving the house.

They wouldn't go through that unless there was a bigger long term goal.

The payoff of moving it is that you get another restaurant space at Pearl in the main cluster as opposed to it being off to the side. Minnies already has a sizable parking lot and is adjacent to another parking lot across a fence that's Pearl parking. They might be looking to consolidate that entire space and build a parking garage. It would make sense if all the proposed apartments in that area come to fruition.

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by jman3000

The payoff of moving it is that you get another restaurant space at Pearl in the main cluster as opposed to it being off to the side.

What?

They might be looking to consolidate that entire space and build a parking garage. It would make sense if all the proposed apartments in that area come to fruition.

They will definitely build something there, but I doubt it will be a parking garage. That's not their aesthetic.