SAN ANTONIO | Projects and Construction

[KevinFromTexas]

Fingers crossed! It would be the new corporate headquarters for Frost Bank. This is almost certain to be a new tallest for San Antonio if it happens. The old Frost Bank Tower would be given to the City of San Antonio which the city would use to consolidate several departments.

http://www.therivardreport.com/mayor...tate-megadeal/

Mayor Castro Unveils Downtown Megadeal

Robert Rivard on 26 June, 2014 at 18:19

Mayor Julián Castro, flanked by a majority of City Council at a hastily-called Thursday afternoon press conference at City Hall, announced a proposed downtown real estate megadeal put forward by Weston Urban and Frost Bank that would give the city’s skyline its first new Class A tower in more than 25 years and generate a breathtaking wave of downtown development north of Main Plaza.

“This is a major development that literally has the opportunity to change the landscape of downtown,” Castro said. “It has been more than quarter century since our downtown skyline has had a new office tower.” He later said the project would add 300 new residential units to the downtown market.

The new tower would add 732 new parking spaces to the downtown inventory, and equally important, put new and available Class A office space into the market, the first addition of Class A office space to San Antonio’s downtown since the Weston Centre opened in 1988.

[Paul in S.A TX]

CPS Energy also has plans to build a new iconic tower downtown. San Antonio's Historical review board shot down a 30 plus story hotel because it was to close to the Alamo. The HDRC claimed that it could cause the Alamo and S.A. Missions to lose the chance of becoming a World Heritage Site. There are other high rise structures in the planning stages in various parts of downtown.

[Paul in S.A TX]

The Joske's Tower project is said to be renamed and moved to a different section of downtown. This would have been an awesome addition for Alamo Plaza, it blended in well with the existing structure.

[Paul in S.A TX]

Electric Streetcar update




http://www.therivardreport.com/modern-streetcar-system/

[KevinFromTexas]

I really liked the design for the Joske Hotel. I doubt it'll happen this way, but I wish the current design could be kept even if they move the development to another location. That design was perfect for San Antonio.

Anyway, some more talk about the new Frost Bank headquarters.

http://therivardreport.com/san-anton...efine-skyline/

San Antonio’s New Tower Should Redefine Skyline
Robert Rivard on 13 July, 2014 at 00:48

The new Frost Tower, depending on its orientation and the new buildings that might surround it, probably can rise 40-50 stories.

“It will look iconic on the 10 o’clock news, which is the top 30 feet of the tower,” Smith said, “But equally important to me is that first 30 feet, what we live with on the street, and how it fits with the block, the neighborhood, and life and work downtown. It has to make for a compelling walk down Houston Street and it absolutely has to embody the things that Frost Bank stands for: quintessentially Texan, authenticity, integrity, a proud hometown name and brand.”

The Weston Urban/Frost Bank project timeline goes something like this:

Aug. 18, 2014: 10-day evaluation period by city staff ends. City staff invites competing proposals within 60 days.

Oct. 18, 2014: Deadline for any competing proposals to be submitted to city staff.

First quarter, 2016: Break ground.

First quarter, 2018: Complete building.

[Paul in S.A TX]

A 107-unit apartment project behind KLRN's offices on Broadway received the go-ahead from Bexar County commissioners for county staff to begin negotiations on a 10-year property tax abatement valued at $125,879.

Marketed as “micro apartments,” the majority of the units will be in the 525- to 625-square-foot range.

“We're tying to keep rents as close to $1,000 a month as we can,” said David Adelman of Area Real Estate LLC. “The 525-square-foot (units) will be right about $1,000, or a little less. The rents won't be set until we're open in a year.”

Some units will be as small as 382 square feet, while a handful of others will be just smaller than 1,000 square feet.

The $10 million project includes a parking structure on the former Spires-Douglas Buick dealership at 209 E. 6th Street, and building a five-story apartment building adjacent to it on the same block. The one-year construction period is expected to begin in September.

“It's a small boutique project, but it's going to be packing a lot of punch for the residents,” Adelman said. A residents-only bike shop is planned for inside the garage. A coffee shop open to the public will face McCullough Avenue and Avenue B. And residents will have access to a rooftop lounge and an internal courtyard with a pool and cooking area.

[Paul in S.A TX]

HEMISFAIR GETS GREEN LIGHT TO SELECT DEVELOPERS FOR $50 MILLION MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT


http://www.expressnews.com/real-esta...rs-5582785.php


Quote:
The nonprofit behind the remaking of HemisFair Park received the go-ahead Thursday from City Council to look for developers to construct two mixed-use buildings near the southwest corner of the downtown space.

Combined, the two projects, totaling at least $50 million in development, could include more than 200 mixed-income residential units, a boutique hotel and roughly 300 public parking spaces to the park, as well as the expansion of the Magik Theatre.

In late July, the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation said it will begin the process of finding a developer for each parcel.

Once chosen, developers would enter a public-private partnership in which they would lease the public land for decades, according to Hemisfair. Revenue generated from each project — rents, leases, etc. — would be funneled back to HemisFair.

The so-called Water Street Development on 1.13 acres would abut the envisioned Yanaguana Garden, the play area on Hemisfair's southwest corner. A midrise structure (five to six stories) containing 100 or so residential units is envisioned for the parcel. The units would wrap around a parking structure with 400 spaces (100 for residents, the remainder for public use). First-floor retail is another component of the planned building.

[Paul in S.A TX]

242-UNIT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR THE WESTEND

http://www.expressnews.com/business/...5569888.php#/3


Toudouze Market in the Maureaux Building circa 1965-1969

Since the beginning of 2013, the city has doled out about $20.6 million in CCHIP incentives for 17 projects expected to bring 1,931 units to market.

Another five downtown-area projects are pending, which would total an additional 755 residential units. Those deals are expected to be inked in the coming weeks. The investment for those projects would total $121.5 million.

One of the projects is the redevelopment of the Maureaux Building at 700 W. Houston St. Plans are for a $28 million mixed-use development that will incorporate 242 apartment units. It's expected to get an incentive package worth more than $4.2 million.

[toxteth o'grady]

Originally Posted by Paul in S.A TX

CPS Energy also has plans to build a new iconic tower downtown.

I was actually surprised at how few tall buildings there are in downtown SA, given the number of corporate headquarters in town. CPS would be nice, but that Frost tower, if it gets built to 40+ stories would be a distinctive change.

[scraperfetish]

@toxteth o'grady, 40+ would be great. I believe that it is time for SA to do something radical. Frost Bank should do what Minneapolis did in 1973 when it built the IDS Tower. At 792' and 55 stories, it was so much taller than anything around it. It stuck out "like a sore thumb" (I thought it was glorious,) but it forced other buildings (like the Capella and Wells Fargo Towers) to reach for the sky to catch up with it. As a result, the Minneapolis skyline is now much more balanced with a lot of infill. Boston, Nawlins, Omaha and others have done it to excellent effect> It looks like OKC and Midland have the same idea...

[Paul in S.A TX]

Entitled STMC Enliven, this document represents a multi-phase, multimillion-dollar template for turning the 900 acres, 40,000 employees that make up the Medical Center into a vibrant, thriving health-care community.
...
From the signage, to the layout of the roads, to the public spaces within the Medical Center, the focus will be on finding ways to get visitors and employees out of their cars and on to pedestrian-friendly streetscapes that will connect the various facilities and institutions that make up the Medical Center.

Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...s-medical.html

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...s-medical.html

[Paul in S.A TX]

River North residential project.

MCCULLOUGH LOFTS │ 107-UNITS │ FIVE STORIES │ RIVER NORTH
Credit Sirkingwilliam

[Paul in S.A TX]

The Aura at the Rim-I-10 Corridor/ La Cantera/Six Flags.

http://www.multihousingnews.com/citi...004105588.html

[scraperfetish]

Does anyone have some fresh "intel" on the Frost Bank Technology/Data Center going up in NW SATX? Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, I caught them on the fly.
I went to the San Antonio Business Journal to see if they had a write-up on it so that I could get a nice-looking rendering of the completed project, but I couldn't find one. I did a Google search on the Technology Center, but all I got was a few old articles on it. I plan to get more photos as the development progresses.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127842...n/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127842...n/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127842...n/photostream/

[Dariusb]

Nice projects coming to San Antonio.

[Restless 1]

Originally Posted by Paul in S.A TX

CPS Energy also has plans to build a new iconic tower downtown. San Antonio's Historical review board shot down a 30 plus story hotel because it was to close to the Alamo. The HDRC claimed that it could cause the Alamo and S.A. Missions to lose the chance of becoming a World Heritage Site. There are other high rise structures in the planning stages in various parts of downtown.

Ugh!! So tired of HDRC nixing cool plans due to proximity to the Alamo.

Anyone seen Austin lately? The Capitol looks damn near engulfed by the buildings downtown, yet it is still majestic.

There is nothing wrong with a mix of historic and modern.

[scraperfetish]

I wouldn't be disappointed at all if the Frost Bank Tower looked similar to the renderings below, but I have a hunch that it will be earth-toned and well below the 622-foot ceiling height of the Tower of the Americas. Per the proposal (the .pdf is available from the link below), it looks like the new tower could be anywhere between 430 and 518 feet tall; the latter height would make it about 4 feet higher than the Frost Bank Tower in Austin. We'll see whether that will be the case or whether the local lobbyists/historical societies and/or developers will again succumb to this chronic acrophobia which seems so rampant in SATX.







August 2014 article and more renderings located here:

http://www.therivardreport.com/city-...bank-proposal/

[scraperfetish]

Read the article at this location: http://www.therivardreport.com/esqui...sign-approved/

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Restless 1

Ugh!! So tired of HDRC nixing cool plans due to proximity to the Alamo.

Anyone seen Austin lately? The Capitol looks damn near engulfed by the buildings downtown, yet it is still majestic.

There is nothing wrong with a mix of historic and modern.

A) It actually would derail a World Heritage Site designation and B) the increased tourism and money that comes from such a designation is worth not building new skyscrapers in the immediate vicinity.

[scraperfetish]

Funny that you mentioned the HDRC. My sister-in-law works on for the Historical Preservation Society and we "get into it" about this all the time. My sentiment is that San Antonio is a WONDERFUL city with so much potential. That said, tall buildings downtown would not take away from San Antonio's sexiness, but enhance it. Honestly, it's not like San Antonio is the most "historical" city in the U.S. It's not even the oldest, although being founded in the late 1600s by the Portuguese is pretty impressive.

Anyway, top-tier cities like Boston, New York, San Fran, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Philly, New York, Chicago, LA, ATL, Miami (Toronto, Montreal) and a whole host of others worldwide have as many or more historical buildings and sites, yet they are not afraid to "scrape." Those charming buildings (including the Alamo) in SA's core will be just as charming with gorgeous modern megaliths gracing adjacent "cityspaces." As an added bonus, we may enjoy a bit more shade downtown during the summer months also.

Yeah, I get peeved every time I pass by Austin and see all of those cranes and "upthrusters" downtown. If it weren't for the "Torre Americana" (even though it is considered short by today's height standards), I would suffer more than I already do from "horizontal-city-itis." Let's just emulate Seattle or Calgary with their observation towers and commanding skylines. Even some serious infill would be nice. Hopefully, the proposed Frost Bank Headquarters downtown will mark a new era of bold, "the-sky's-the-limit" downtown development. Well, can't I dream?

...but despite all this, San Antonio is and will always be a GREAT CITY.