ELMENDORF LAKE, NEXT TO OLLU, TO UNDERGO MASSIVE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MAKEOVER (http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Final-plans-unveiled-for-Elmendorf-Lake-makeover-5740133.php)

http://i.imgur.com/MmWWhEw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LQwqVZ7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7zQ4xb0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pb9VxcD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/q9kVz4p.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7RgIhj9.jpg

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

http://i.imgur.com/ghyAJw2.png
http://i.imgur.com/O0PTurt.png
http://i.imgur.com/wZYbBQE.png
http://i.imgur.com/ftIb8Qu.png
http://i.imgur.com/UsG3fud.png
http://i.imgur.com/3bjwzdV.png
http://i.imgur.com/wdVdIoU.png
http://i.imgur.com/67X6eLT.png

New site plan for The Landmark development under construction on the southeast corner of 1604 and 10 on the far Northwest side.


http://i.imgur.com/wznBkuS.jpg
ZOOM IN (http://www.fulcrumsa.com/sites/default/files/Landmark%20Master%20Plan%20Alternatives%20part%20% 20SP%20rev%20090514.pdf)

DETAILS:

3 mid-rise, mixed-use buildings w/ adjacent 5-story parking garage
Multi-story hotel with attached 4-story parking garage
950-unit multifamily residential units
Restaurants
Medical
Bank



Additional:

The area bounded by 10 to the West, 1604 to the North, Union Pacific rail to the East and UTSA Blvd to the South is marketed as District North. Here is a recent illustration (http://i.imgur.com/COw8uv6.jpg) of all the parcels of land which have sold including the Landmark land. Within District North, over 2,000 apartments are under construction or under development.

From the Journal Record:

Bid to restore blighted San Antonio property raises concerns

By: Associated Press October 9, 20140

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Randall K. Hoover had been hesitant to put money into the battered Santa Monica Hotel, which he’s owned since the late 1990s, because it’s located in a sketchy neighborhood.

Though it’s a historic district, Cattleman Square on the near West Side is home to many blighted buildings, including the hollowed-out Santa Monica.

Buildings that sit idle until they start to decay are common throughout the downtown area. Many of the structures attract indigents who hang out in front of them – and sometimes make their way inside the buildings.

Soon these properties will be the target of stricter city rules aimed at pressuring their owners to either develop the buildings or clean them up.

But Hoover says making such structures marketable is fraught with difficulties.

“It’s not an easy place to say, ‘Hey, I want to open up a business over there’ – for us to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and wait 20 years” for the area to improve, he said.

In recent months, however, he has begun to rethink his building and the area. He sees VIA Metropolitan Transit’s West Side Multimodal Transit Center – currently under construction – as a harbinger of the revival of Cattleman Square. The station will include the refurbished Missouri Pacific train depot, which VIA plans to use mainly as administrative offices.

But apart from the area’s still-rough character, Hoover says red tape has been another obstacle.

Even a small fix to the three-story Santa Monica Hotel proved cumbersome. It took three months for repairs to the upper windows to be approved by the city’s Historic Design and Review Commission.

Now, some owners such as Hoover are concerned about how an impending pilot program, meant to save and revive historic buildings, might affect plans for their properties.

But they’re unlikely to find much sympathy.

“My response is: If you can’t maintain it, then sell it,” said Bill Dupont, director of the Center for Cultural Sustainability at the UTSA School of Architecture, Construction and Planning.

In June, the City Council passed an ordinance that created the 18-month-long program, one that raises the city’s standards for the maintenance of vacant buildings. After the 18 months are over, the city could tweak the program, continue it as is or scrap it if it proves ineffective.

“What we’re proposing is for the building to look like someone could reasonably move into it,” Shanon Shea Miller, the city’s historic preservation officer, told council members in May. “The windows are repaired. The doors are repaired. There’s no architectural features missing or hanging off the building. So it doesn’t look abandoned.”

Failure to comply with the higher standards, scheduled to kick in Jan. 1, would cost owners up to $500 per violation. However, structures that already comply with the new requirements could be exempt from the program.

“Nothing that an owner would have to do would be wasted work,” Miller said recently. “It is something that would make the building more attractive to a future buyer or renter.”

Under the new policy, owners will have to register their buildings with the city and present a plan within 90 days that shows how they are to improve them. People who own single-family homes pay $250 to register, while owners of all other types of buildings pay $750. Failure to register would cost them up to $500 a day in fines.

Owners would be required to display “vacant building” placards, carry insurance and sign a “no trespass affidavit” to allow law enforcement to remove trespassers.

The pilot program would cover empty structures in the downtown and surrounding areas, historic districts, landmarks and buildings near military bases.

To date, the city’s office of historic preservation has identified roughly 450 properties the policy would apply to. The areas with the highest levels of vacancy, Miller said, are downtown and the Government Hill and Monticello Park historic districts.

“There’s nothing wrong with having a vacant building,” she said. “What the ordinance is intending to address is vacant buildings that are presenting a challenge with the property around them.”

Some owners of empty buildings are looking to refurbish their properties. Others are just absentee owners.

“This process may help us distinguish from those who really want to make the city better and those who are using either our downtown or our neighborhood as a safe-deposit box,” said City Council member Diego Bernal, one of the plan’s architects.

Miller said owners who show evidence of work being done on their structures – permits being pulled, for example – could be exempt from certain requirements of the policy or granted extensions. But those exemptions are still being crafted.

The ordinance defines a vacant building as one where activity has ceased for 30 days and is no longer being used for the purpose for which “the structure was built for or intended to be used for.”

But in some cases, determining whether a building is vacant isn’t clear-cut.

Pfluger Architects is using a one-story commercial building in Government Hill, at 1829 N. New Braunfels Ave., for storage – not what the property was built for.

“It’s not vacant,” said Kent Niemann, a partner at Pfluger Architects, whose offices are across the street. “It is being used. We’re in that building every day. So, yeah, I’m concerned about what they’re going to call vacant.”

Miller said each building, each situation, will be judged on its own merits. “I just don’t know the answers to that without looking at the specifics,” she said, referring to the Pfluger Architects’ storage facility.

Such distinctions could ultimately pit city policy against property owners.

“The tension here is whether they’re keeping a nuisance from happening or preventing a business owner from using their property in a lawful way,” said Eddie Bravenec, a lawyer who has represented property owners against the city in “demolition by neglect” cases before, and who is now running for district judge.

“If there’s a way the city can allow the property owners to use it in a lawful way while abating that nuisance,” he said, “then this can be a win-win.”

In the late 1990s, the Centeno family was refurbishing the Santa Monica Hotel, located at 108 N. Medina St., when its financing dried up. Hoover’s construction company, the contractor that had built a new lattice for the property, eventually acquired the structure.

A few months ago, Hoover moved his company’s officers next to the Santa Monica, renting space at the Avance building. He plans to eventually to turn the former hotel into his company’s headquarters.

“We felt the best way to get that building squared away was to get right next to it,” Hoover said.

But his efforts haven’t gone without headaches.

He and the Historic Design and Review Commission agreed on upper windows that would be made of vinyl. But Hoover and the HDRC have yet to settle on the storefront. One of the sticking points is how to preserve an old Barq’s root beer sign painted on the side of the brick building.

“They’re going to try to tell us that the downstairs should be all wood,” said Hoover, who’s put $600,000 into the Santa Monica to date. “They want it to be more historical, and nobody knows what that’s going to be yet. So we don’t know what we’ll be able to afford.” Building owners and architects who present applications to the HDRC often share Hoover’s concerns.

But his situation raises the question: Will an owner be fined if a building is stuck in a bureaucratic or financing tangle? If progress is being made, but at a slow pace because of the city’s own requirements, what will the city’s threshold be for extensions?

“It sounds like to me we’re going to pay a fine until we’re able to lease it,” Hoover said.

Property owners can apply for extensions – when rehabilitation or marketing of the building drag out – before they have to register or pay the fee, Miller said.

“The biggest reason why there wasn’t a date specified (for the length of an extension) was because there was a lot concern about market dynamics,” Miller said. “If average days on the market is X, then we have to be mindful of that and kind of try to be reasonable if people really are trying to market their property.”

Getting the extension will depend on whether permits are being pulled or if the property owner is actively marketing the property.

In some cases, buildings are left vacant because there is a planned use for them.

The Southwest School of Art, for example, plans to demolish two one-story commercial buildings that it owns a block north of its downtown campus. Paula Owen, president and CEO of the school, said putting money into the buildings to meet the requirements of a vacant-building ordinance doesn’t make sense.

“My only concern is that there will be owners like the Southwest School of Art who would already have plans in place for the demolition of those empty buildings and for development of the property,” Owen said.

The same holds true for the former Solo Serve building on Soledad, between Houston and Commerce streets.

Service Lloyds Insurance Co. of Austin acquired the massive property through foreclosure in 2009 and currently has a Texas-based buyer under contract.

“Really, we have been waiting for the market to get in position to actually market it and sell it to a buyer and not get hurt,” said Cosmo Palmieri, the company’s vice president of real estate. “The market is actually getting pretty strong in the downtown area.”

In some cases, a building’s owner might simply run out of money before refashioning their properties.

“What happens is people lack the capital to invest in their property for whatever reason,” UTSA’s Dupont said. “Instead of selling it, they let it go.”

The blighted 10-story Hedrick Building is at the northwest corner of N. St. Mary’s and E. Martin streets. Owned by San Antonio College Professor B.P. Agrawal, the former San Antonio Real Estate Board Building sits on prime downtown real estate. Agrawal has owned the structure and its 1.441 acres of land since the early 1990s.

“I come from India,” he told the Express-News in 2007. “We have buildings in our family that are owned for several generations. Some of the bigger projects require more than 10, 15 years. And there are many examples of that in other cities. So I don’t think it has been long.”

In 2008, engineer Andres Andujar, currently CEO of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corp., conducted a feasibility study for Agrawal.

“Different alternatives were developed for what could happen on that site. But as it is evident, the idea didn’t catch,” Andujar said. “And so the site remains undeveloped.”

Agrawal did not return multiple calls for an interview.

The intent of the program is to prod owners who have sat on their buildings, in some cases, for decades.

HDRC Chairman Tim Cone rejects the notion that the city’s historic-preservation rules impede progress.

“There’s been a significant amount of successful development that has been completed downtown in historic buildings,” Cone said. “What you’ve got when you buy downtown property is a very unique location that’s worth a significant amount of money because of its location and because it’s in the heart of a historic area.”

If a downtown building is in bad shape, the fault lies solely with the owner.

“Whose fault is that?” Dupont said. “Is it the fault of the HDRC? Well, no. Oh, people say, ‘I have to comply with all this stuff to fix this rotten material.’ Well, how did this material get rotten in the first place? Because you didn’t maintain it.”

Just getting vacant buildings to “mothball” status, a term used in the architecture world to refer to securing and rendering a building relatively habitable, is one of the proposal’s goals.

The aim is to reinsert these buildings into the fabric of downtown and educate owners of development incentives at the local, state and federal levels – including historic tax credits.

“We have so much potential with vacant buildings right now downtown that is seems to be a shame that we are in such a forward moving redevelopment of downtown that we don’t take advantage of the structures that are there,” said Sue Ann Pemberton, president of the San Antonio Conservation Society.

To date, the city’s office of historic preservation had not yet contacted most of the property owners interviewed for this report.

Miller said they will be given notice before Jan. 1, and will be given 90 days to register.

Because it’s a pilot program, Bernal said, it’ll have kinks to work out.

“It’s going to take some time to get it right,” Bernal said. “Along the way, it’s important that we make these changes in the community. This city has waited long enough. It’s time for us to take action and figure out how to – in a very methodical and deliberate way – how to solve this problem.”

Should San Antonio win one of three final four bids, the Alamodome will see a 50 million dollar renovation.

Improvements include:


New wider concources on east and west sides of building
Two new LED screens
New terrace club
New concession stands
New locker rooms
Outdoor plaza



https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/5sngs8vghs43drbb/images/1-42a860c2c6.jpg

https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/5sngs8vghs43drbb/images/2-57cb3946de.jpg

https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/5sngs8vghs43drbb/images/3-130b9a55be.jpg

The MYSA.com website made a slideshow of the 20 wealthiest neighborhoods within Greater San Antonio (http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Top-20-luxury-neighborhoods-in-the-San-Antonio-5819804.php#photo-6980612). I thought it was neat enough to share here.

This slideshow feature stems from the fact that the luxury market in San Antonio is really hot right now.



19 (tie). Summerglen, San Antonio.
http://i.imgur.com/Qm5CDDr.jpg


19 (tie). Inverness, San Antonio.
http://i.imgur.com/wYohKHk.jpg


18. Cibolo Canyons, San Antonio.
http://i.imgur.com/IlbGodj.jpg


17. Lincoln Heights, San Antonio.
http://i.imgur.com/vrOdyZk.jpg


15 (tie). Huntington (https://www.google.com/search?q=Huntington+at+Shavano+Park&oq=Huntington+at+Shavano+Park&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8), Shavano Park.
http://i.imgur.com/6aZrCz1.jpg


15 (tie). Shavano Creek, Shavano Park.
http://photos1.zillowstatic.com/p_h/ISptn7l528reqx1000000000.jpg


14. Estancia at Thunder Valley, Boerne.
http://i.imgur.com/GkGXNYV.jpg


13. Greystone, San Antonio.
http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/32/50/16/6980534/3/622x350.jpg


12. Monte Vista, San Antonio.
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/32/50/63/6982904/3/622x350.jpg


11. Hill Country Village, Hill Country Village.
http://i.imgur.com/wj3pmBN.jpg


9 (tie). Champions Ridge, San Antonio.
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/32/53/23/6993116/3/622x350.jpg


9 (tie). Shavano Park, Shavano Park.
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/32/50/62/6982824/3/622x350.jpg


8. Waterford Heights, San Antonio.
http://i.imgur.com/EYmRy6l.jpg


7. Anaqua Springs Ranch (https://www.google.com/search?q=Anaqua+Springs+Ranch&oq=Anaqua+Springs+Ranch&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8), Boerne.

http://i.imgur.com/9MLY8oH.jpg


6. Olmos Park (https://www.google.com/search?q=Olmos+Park&oq=Olmos+Park&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8).
http://info.kuperrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/images/San-Antonio-Real-Estate-029.jpg


5. Cordillera Ranch, Boerne.
http://i.imgur.com/GlpGfpW.jpg


4. Bentley Manor (https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=122&q=Bentley+Manor&oq=Bentley+Manor&gs_l=serp.3..0l9j0i10.1513.1678.0.1991.2.2.0.0.0.0 .108.194.1j1.2.0....0...1c.1.55.serp..0.2.192.Zb4Q 1EX7AAM), Shavano Park.
http://i.imgur.com/hWScwm8.jpg


3. Alamo Heights (https://www.google.com/search?q=Alamo+Heights&oq=Alamo+Heights&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8).
http://s3.amazonaws.com/placester-wordpress/blogs.dir/4/files/2014/07/460px-AH-bluehouse-141549.jpg


2. Terrell Hills (https://www.google.com/search?q=Terrell+Hills.&oq=Terrell+Hills.&gs_l=serp.3..0i7i30l4j0i30l6.1463.1743.0.1913.3.3. 0.0.0.1.215.448.1j1j1.3.0....0...1c.1.55.serp..1.2 .299.zeZsbaY6ysI).
http://info.kuperrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/images/555-Eldon-San-Antonio-Real-Estate.jpg


1. The Dominion (https://www.google.com/search?q=the+dominion+san+antonio&oq=The+Dominion+&gs_l=serp.1.1.0l10.4245.4245.0.5654.1.1.0.0.0.0.10 9.109.0j1.1.0....0...1c.1.55.serp..0.1.109.UIdRKDR uNww), San Antonio.
http://i.imgur.com/SL8yib4.jpg

Travelers Hotel set to undergo multimillion dollar makeover; will become a luxury hotel (http://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/Travelers-Hotel-on-the-comeback-trail-5825683.php#/0)

http://i.imgur.com/ghMK3uh.jpg


When it opened in 1914, the seven-story Travelers Hotel was considered upscale, an extended-stay establishment for the business elite.

But it hasn't been that way for decades.

Sitting in the middle of a block of Broadway downtown, Travelers Hotel is currently a place where transients can stay for $30 a night. Guests walk up to an old marble front desk. House rules are spelled on white plastic letters on a black letter board — they include, “No visitors allowed in room.”

“If a guy comes in here who (urinated) his pants and has a whiskey bottle in his hand, I don't let him in,” hotel manager Gene Venable said.

Now under new ownership, Travelers Hotel is due for a multimillion-dollar renovation, one that could transform the infamous building from flophouse to — possibly — a luxury hotel.

Ownership group Ramila & Dhani LLC plans to invest as much as $10 million in the Travelers' refurbishing. And it's under contract with a high-end hotel brand, but the owners declined to divulge which one for contractual reasons.

Ramila & Dhani is experienced in lodging and purchased the Travelers last year because it wanted to take on a historic renovation project.

Convention Center expansion hits 'major milestone' (http://www.expressnews.com/business/local/article/Convention-Center-expansion-hits-major-5819754.php)

http://i.imgur.com/h3sELOk.jpg


As competition for convention business heats up, construction crews have completed a substantial portion of the $325 million expansion to the Convention Center under budget and ahead of schedule, according to city officials.

The addition of about 270,000 square feet of exhibition space on the eastern portion of the Convention Center — the project's initial phase — will finish three months ahead of a contractual deadline in April, said Mike Frisbie, director of the Transportation and Capital Improvements Project.

...

The City Council selected a joint venture between Phoenix-based Hunt Construction Group and San Antonio-based Zachry Corp. for the project two years ago.

When construction crews finish the Convention Center expansion in 2016, the facility will have increased from a current 1.3 million square feet to 1.65 million square feet, including 500,000 square feet in contiguous exhibit space.

The bigger space should bump the Convention Center's ranking from 22nd to ninth in the U.S. among similar convention designs, according to the Convention, Sports & Leisure International, a firm that assisted the city's facilities development study.


[B]Rendered Aerial
http://i.imgur.com/3C00rDY.jpg

Speaking of the convention center. It looks like the center will have an art installation wrapped around it called "Cactus" Christian Moeller.


http://i.imgur.com/QV0lR9Z.png

The Convention Center construction from street level by Raul's Photography.


http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/112857244.jpg

The King William District (http://imgur.com/a/BfLWZ) in the Southtown area of the urban core.

http://i.imgur.com/mZ89rxg.png

Small collection of modern and contemporary homes in Southtown (http://www.okctalk.com/other-communities/35797-san-antonio-%7C-deep-heart-3.html#post714322). The Southtown area is comprised of two neighborhoods, King William (http://imgur.com/a/BfLWZ) and Lavaca, which are two of the oldest neighborhoods in San Antonio.




http://i.imgur.com/RtR3Pgg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2HLuiYV.jpg

Under construction
http://i.imgur.com/I9KYypK.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5Ai8fd5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/o1nPoDc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DZBzRtF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DOHTGCi.png

http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/04/06/43/1075453/5/622x350.jpg

Cool modern public art
http://i.imgur.com/000WMPW.jpg

There's dozens of recently built modernist homes in Southtown, moreso in the Lavaca District neighborhood, but these pictures I just found online. I need to explore the area and take pictures myself.

NSA chief: 1,000 new jobs coming to San Antonio (http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/article/Cyber-commander-says-1-000-new-jobs-coming-to-S-A-5827450.php)

http://extras.mysanantonio.com/nsa-images/images/horz-big-new.jpg


SAN ANTONIO — The director of the National Security Agency said Thursday that San Antonio could expect as many as a 1,000 additional personnel working on the Defense of Department's ongoing cybersecurity mission over the next three years.

“San Antonio is very important to the future of cyber within the Department of Defense,” Adm. Michael Rogers, who's also commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, said during a Cybersecurity Summit hosted by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. “You are going to see a larger footprint coming to San Antonio.”

The DOD has quietly grown its cybersecurity mission in San Antonio, with the 24th Air Force at Port San Antonio responsible for safeguarding key components of DOD information networks.

JAPANESE GROUP SERIOUS ABOUT JOINING SAN ANTONIO'S MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PUSH (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2014/10/31/gordon-hartman-japanese-group-serious-about.html)

http://i.imgur.com/W8s2Z8l.jpg


San Antonio Scorpions owner Gordon Hartman has confirmed that a group of potential Japanese investors could acquire a stake in the North American Soccer League franchise with the intent of working to help secure a Major League Soccer team for the Alamo City.

Hartman would not identify the group, but he did tell me they are "very sincere and serious" in there interest in boosting San Antonio soccer and his nonprofit Soccer for a Cause program, which receives a portion of the Scorpions' proceeds.

Hartman said the potential investors reached out to him and have already visited San Antonio multiple times. Members of the group are expected to be in San Antonio early next week to meet with local officials.

SAN ANTONIO'S FIRST 100 MILLION DOLLAR TOWER SALE LOOMING (http://www.therivardreport.com/san-antonios-first-100-million-tower-sale/)


http://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/bank-of-america-plaza-and-skyline_credit-iris-dimmick3.jpg


A pending contract for the sale of Bank of America Plaza will set a new record for the price of a downtown office tower in San Antonio, with the Houston buyers reportedly paying more than $100 million.

Bank of America Plaza, located at 300 Convent St., is the city’s sixth tallest building at 28 stories and largest Class A office space with 533,171 sq. ft. It opened in 1984 as Interfirst Bank Plaza. Tenants include the Bank of America, OCI Solar, and some of the city’s most prominent law firms, including Aiken Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Norton Rose Fulbright; and Martin & Drought.

At nearly $200 per sq. ft., the unconfirmed price cited by local commercial real estate brokers who are not part of the transaction, the building would be valued at more than $100 million, far and away the highest price ever paid for a downtown office tower in San Antonio.

GOURMET DELI TO OPEN IN NEAR EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD OF DIGNOWITY HILL

http://i.imgur.com/muk6MQN.jpg


Dignowity Meats On Houston St., a deli specializing in smoked meats and gourmet sandwiches, is slated to open on the city’s Eastside on Nov. 15.

Denise Aguirre and Noel Cisneros, owners of Taps Y Tapas and The Point Park & Eats, have teamed up with Andrew Samia and Shane Reed of Crazy Carl’s, a popular food truck that has been featured on The Cooking Channel’s Eat St.

The new eatery will set up shop in a renovated space located on 1701 E. Houston St. that was once home to Murf’s Burger joint. Beer and wine won’t be served until early next year, but they hope to include everything from craft beer to, as Aguirre put it, “not so crafty beer” in order to please everyone’s palate and wallet.


http://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/974715_10202205598935078_1061704837_n.jpg


Samia and Reed will be in charge of the menu, which will include smoked meats by the pound, handcrafted sandwiches, and specialty sides including jalapeño cheddar cornbread and braised greens. You can wash it all down with fresh-squeezed lemonade or brewed teas. Both grew up in the Northeast and Midwest, respectively, and hope to bring those region’s solid deli culture to San Antonio.

Dignowity Meats represents a growing trend of young Millennial entrepreneurs finding an opportunity to live out their culinary dreams in the city’s urban core.

“With the upcoming growth of the Eastside and lack of food options, it made sense to put our footprint in the area,” Aguirre said.



MAP

http://i.imgur.com/Ap4G7cz.png (http://i.imgur.com/CVQ8YxQ.png)

JAPANESE GROUP OF INVESTORS WANT TO BUY THE SCORPIONS AND INVEST $100 MILLION TO EXPAND TOYOTA FIELD (http://www.woai.com/articles/woai-local-news-sponsored-by-five-119078/big-league-soccer-on-the-agenda-12927000/)

http://i.imgur.com/W8s2Z8l.jpg


A group of Japanese investors will meet with San Antonio city officials today to discuss investing in a Major League Soccer team in San Antonio, Newsradio 1200 WOAI reports.

The investors will discuss the possibility of purchasing or paying for a proposed expansion of Toyota Field, which is located on the city's far north side and is noW home to the San Antonio Scorpions, a minor league franchise which helps provide a revenue stream to the Morgan’s Wonderland theme park for the disabled, which is located next door. The Scorpions, the stadium, and the theme park are owned by Gordon Hartman.

"To do this, they would be investing over $100 million," Hartman told Newsradio 1200 WOAI's Michael Board. "They are looking for the city to help in some fashion, maybe on the stadium purchase."

Major League Soccer is in the process of expanding in the U.S., but San Antonio is said to be well down the list of potential expansion sites. An investment of this scale could vastly enhance the city's fortunes.

"There is a potential window of opportunity here to move this to the next level," Hartman said. "I think that is exciting."

The move by the Japanese investors comes at a time when the city is juggling a lot of sports possibilities. The Oakland Raiders are still in play, although that is considered a longer shot for San Antonio than attracting an MLS franchise. The city has also submitted bids for future men's NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments.

Hartman says the soccer venture would involve a lot of involvement from the Japanese, who would be far more than silent partners.

"One of the gentlemen who is part of this group is a very well known soccer player worldwide," Hartman said. "He would be very much involved in what is done here in San Antonio."

Anything new on the speculated officer tower?

Anything new on the speculated officer tower?

Yes, renderings should be released later this month.

Though, the Frost HQ office tower and adjacent 350-unit residential tower aren't speculative. They're happening. The time table for completion is 2017/2018.

The office tower that is semi-speculative is the CPS Energy HQ tower. The CEO wants to build a new HQ and has sent out bids. He wants an iconic tower in the downtown area.

With the recent news that the Bank of America building sold for over $100 million, that's going to shake up the downtown office market in a big way. I could see a couple of spec towers proposed in the next few years plus more residential towers for employees and residents moving to the urban core in flocks.

Then there's the two convention center hotels. One slated for the future Civic Park area, just west of the Convention Center and the other hotel tower has been rumored to be across from the new $325 million Convention Center expansion (rendering (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/downtown/files/2013/06/ccexpand1.jpg)) currently under construction.

That'll be awesome. Can't wait to see the renderings of it!!

NATIONAL FOOD TRUCK CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE THIS WEEKEND IN SAN ANTONIO (http://www.expressnews.com/food/restaurants/article/National-food-truck-conference-rolling-to-San-5859340.php)

http://roamconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/The-Rickshaw-Stop-825x377.jpg (http://roamconference.com/)
PICTURE: RICKSHAW STOP FOOD TRUCK PARKED AT THE EILAN MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT IN FAR NORTHWEST SAN ANTONIO


The Roam Mobile Food Conference is rolling into town next week and in its second year, the event looks to provide information about best practices, innovations and trends in the mobile vending industry.

The two-day conference will run Nov. 8-9. All events will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 125 E. Houston St.

Sessions will focus on industry issues such as business planning, funding and franchising. Guest speakers include Meagan and Sameer Siddiqui of San Antonio's Rickshaw Stop food truck.

Check out the full line-up here. (http://roamconference.com/program/schedule/)

Cost to attend the entire conference is $250 until Nov. 7. Onsite registration is $280. Tickets to pre-conference workshops are $25 and admission to the exhibit only is $35 in advance or $50 onsite. More ticket info can be found here. (http://roamconference.com/registration/)

San Antonio has about 170 food trucks and 6 food truck parks.

__________________________________________________ ________
VACANT RIVER WALK PROPERTIES PUT IN PLAY (http://therivardreport.com/six-river-walk-blocks-property-available-downtown-san-antonio/)


http://cdn.therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/6-blocks-on-river-walk_credit-iris-dimmick008.jpg


Marshall Davidson Jr. and his team at KMD Studley, a commercial real estate brokerage firm, have assembled some of the downtown River Walk’s last vacant properties and adjacent parcels and are shopping them to a national audience of developers.

They’ve bundled a portfolio of six previously unavailable properties controlled by five different owners to create the kind of ground-up development opportunity that they say has been missing in San Antonio’s downtown revitalization efforts. There are no prices attached to the parcels, and Davidson said the owners are open-minded.

Other developers have said in the past that owners of downtown parcels have unrealistic expectations of their value, and their unwillingness to sell at market rate has impeded downtown redevelopment. The KMD Studley package should prove to be a good test of what buyers are willing to pay to develop in the most affordable downtown of any major Texas city.

Most of the buildings are vacant or underutilized, though some are occupied by tenants with multi-year leases. The City’s passage in June of a Vacant Building Ordinance that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2015 could serve as a catalyst for absentee property owners to sell now rather than face costly building upgrades or fines.

http://cdn.therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/6-river-walk-blocks-flyer-141027.jpg


The properties are within easy walking distance of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts to the east and the Southwest School of Art to the west, the Central Library to the north and the Central Business District’s Class A office towers, Bank of America Plaza, the Weston Centre and One Riverwalk Place, to the south.

“The most incredible thing is they are six River Walk blocks, totaling six acres in downtown San Antonio, in the same stretch of river, and all of it looks like it can be developed from the ground up. This includes a site tested for a 500,000 sq. ft. headquarters tower and parking structures,” Davidson said. “Now you have six blocks on the river where you can build brand new, efficient and modern buildings and park them. I don’t know of another city in the U.S. where you can do this on this scale.”

Davidson was referring to site testing that was conducted in 2006 on behalf of AT&T Corp. when the Fortune 500 company was still based in San Antonio and executives were considering construction of an office tower downtown to serve as a new corporate headquarters. The company that moved here from St. Louis in 1993 decided instead to relocate to Dallas in 2008.

National developers, Davidson said, will take a closer look when they learn that AT&T seriously vetted the site for its own use.

The opening of the Tobin Center, the evolution of the former Southwest Crafts Center into the accredited, four-year Southwest School of Art, and the proximity of Artpace and the Central Library, Davidson said, could serve as anchor institutions in an emerging arts and entertainment district.

The portfolio includes the downtown’s most-cited example of a vacant, blighted building, the 10-story Hedrick Building, which has sat unused for more than two decades on 1.4 acres of property on the northwest corner of North St. Mary’s and East Martin Streets. The prime riverfront property includes parking and a smaller attached building.


http://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/6-blocks-on-river-walk_credit-iris-dimmick086.jpg?w=651


KMD Studley’s move comes on the heels of Weston Urban’s ambitious proposal to build downtown San Antonio’s first new office tower in more than 25 years to serve as a new corporate headquarters for Frost Bank, while also acquiring a number of other properties from the bank and the City of San Antonio in a complex swap. That proposal and a competing proposal from Primera Properties are under review by the City.

The Weston Urban proposal and KMD Studley’s marketing effort, if successful, could set off multi-block redevelopment efforts downtown that would attract more jobs, create more residential units and expand the tax base.

duplicate post

http://i.imgur.com/AvT9sK3.png


Should San Antonio win one of three final four bids, the Alamodome will see a 50 million dollar renovation.

Improvements include:


New wider concources on east and west sides of building
Two new LED screens
New terrace club
New concession stands
New locker rooms
Outdoor plaza



https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/5sngs8vghs43drbb/images/1-42a860c2c6.jpg

https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/5sngs8vghs43drbb/images/2-57cb3946de.jpg

https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/5sngs8vghs43drbb/images/3-130b9a55be.jpg

Well, $50 million worth of upgrades and improvements (http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6768977&postcount=3758) are coming to the Alamodome because...


SAN ANTONIO CHOSEN TO HOST 2018 NCAA FINAL FOUR (http://www.kens5.com/story/news/local/2014/11/14/ncaa-final-four-san-antonio-hosting-announcement/19039401/)

http://i.imgur.com/214i93l.png


The NCAA announced Friday that San Antonio will host the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, the first Final Four to be held in the Alamo City since 2008.

The announcement was televised Friday afternoon on the CBS Sports Network. Officials also revealed that Phoenix will host in 2017, Minneapolis the 2019 tournament and Atlanta will have the Final Four in 2020.

Four other cities, all with Final Four history, also were in the running for the tournaments from 2017 to 2020. All of the finalist cities made in-person presentations this week in preparation for the NCAA's decision.

"This is great news and I want to thank the NCAA for selecting San Antonio as a site for the Men's Final Four and confirming that San Antonio is one of the best cities in the nation—if not the best city—for hosting a Final Four," San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor said. "I want to thank and commend the hard work of the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee which includes UTSA, San Antonio Sports and our City staff. Once again, all that makes San Antonio special will be showcased across the country and around the world."

The eight finalists -- San Antonio, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, North Texas, Phoenix/Glendale and St. Louis -- have combined to hold 24 previous men's Final Fours.

This year's Final Four was at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington; Indianapolis will host in 2015, and Houston will host in 2016.

"The Men's Final Four has grown into one of the biggest and best sporting events in the world, so it's easy to understand why these cities would put their best foot forward in attempt to secure a bid," said Dan Gavitt, the NCAA vice president for men's basketball.

San Antonio bid officials held a "Bring it! River Rally" at the Rivercenter Mall Lagoon in September to show visiting NCAA officials that San Antonians would turn out to support the event. Supporters tweeted photos and videos with #BringItSA and #KENS5for4 to share their excitement.

"NCAA fans love coming to San Antonio for this marquee event and our city has the perfect setup for all the Final Four has to offer," said San Antonio Sports President & CEO Russ Bookbinder. "We look forward to hosting an outstanding event that is so much more than a basketball game."

The tournament is a true money maker. The 2008 Final Four in San Antonio generated more than $55 million for the city.

San Antonio has hosted three previous Final Four tournaments in all, and it also has been the site for other NCAA tournament early-round games.

____________________________________________

BEFORE

http://i.imgur.com/Ivty1DL.jpg


AFTER

http://i.imgur.com/9xKyDg7.jpg

________________________________

FINAL FOUR RETURNING (http://www.expressnews.com/sports/colleges/article/Final-Four-returning-5894810.php)

http://i.imgur.com/6HeLQZc.jpg


By Tim Griffin
November 14, 2014

When NCAA Men’s Final Four committee chairman Scott Barnes left San Antonio in September, the enthusiasm for bringing his event back to the Alamo City kept ringing in his ears.

It was only bolstered after fans implored him to “Bring It” during a memorable pep rally at Rivercenter mall that Barnes said Friday was one of the highlights of judging contenders for the event across the country.

“Thousands of people turning out chanting for us to bring the Final Four back put it all in perspective,” Barnes said. “The passion of the city embracing the event was obvious as soon as we got there.”

Barnes and his committee lived up to those wishes Friday, as they returned the NCAA’s signature event to the city in 2018.

A $45 million proposed face-lift to the Alamodome also helped convince them. It will provide a doubling of space on the Alamodome’s concourses, improved video walls and extensions in space for media and locker rooms in the facility.

Those upgrades helped bolster a strong bid that already included the city’s new convention center and renovations at HemisFair Park and International Airport.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley said the event will be on a much larger scope than the last time it came to San Antonio, in 2008. With a fan fest, outdoor concerts and other ancillary events, it will provide one largest downtown events in the city’s history as it celebrates San Antonio’s 300th anniversary in 2018.

The city’s ability to stage the event in a tight downtown “footprint,” was another major strength. The city’s bid included 13,000 hotel rooms in the downtown area and the ability for spectators to walk to most events.

Mayor Ivy Taylor said that San Antonio’s history of staging memorable Final Fours will be trumped by an even grander show when it returns.

“I’d like to thank the NCAA for acknowledging what we’ve always known, that San Antonio is the best city in the nation to host the Final Four,” Taylor said. “We’ve always known that fans and coaches have always said that San Antonio is their favorite place to attend the Final Four. We’re thrilled that the 'Road to San Antonio’ will again be a well-known phrase.”

The announcement also represents a vindication for the 21-year-old Alamodome, which wasn’t the newest, biggest, brightest or shiniest facility among the finalists.

“I think it gives it new life and helps move San Antonio to a whole new level as a sports city,” UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey said. “With all of the things going on at HemisFair Plaza and the convention center and to the dome, it will open it up not only for this opportunity, but for more of everything.”

But Taylor wasn’t willing to say if the improvements would significantly improve the city’s chances of luring an NFL franchise one day.

“I guess that’s a possibility,” she said. “We’ve got some irons in the fire and we’ll see how it all shakes out.”

Based on figures generated by the Men’s Final Four staged earlier this year in North Texas, the event is expected to have an economic impact of at least $85 million. It will be staged in an Alamodome, which will have improved technology and will be configured to seat 72,000.

___________________________________

Some suburban infill news.


THE DWELL AT LEGACY BREAKS GROUND

http://i.imgur.com/vYgchqE.jpg


The Dwell at Legacy, an 8-acre, 289-unit apartment project by Embrey Partners, is scheduled to open June 2015 at The Legacy, the retail center at the northeast corner of Loop 1604 and U.S. 281. Developer Santikos Real Estate Services hopes the apartments, which will include one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 500 to 1,200 square feet, complement the tenants — including Best Buy, Main Event, Life Time Fitness, Spec's and Stone Street Pub & Grill — already doing business at the 100-acre Legacy.


LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/DRMTH7j.png

_________________________________

IN-N-OUT PLANNED FOR STONE OAK

I found this bit of information concerning an In-N-Out planned for the corner of 281 and TPC Parkway.

This would be the fourth In-n-Out planned for the city and fifth for the metro area. Two are currently under construction.


http://i.imgur.com/JZfH01n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wWZ3roc.jpg


LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/nQ2DL9A.png

Not sure if I've reported this suburban infill development.


Aura at The Rim (http://auraattherim.com/)

http://i.imgur.com/kKfXUzE.jpg

It's about 50% complete and will be ready for move-ins in the spring of 2015.


http://i.imgur.com/03vUGPv.jpg

__________________________________________

SAN ANTONIO'S FIRST IN-N-OUT OPENS TODAY (http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/local/article/San-Antonio-s-first-In-N-Out-opening-Thursday-5903948.php)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SVbIkmvUabk/Sy2_31zTcQI/AAAAAAAAAsY/WPBO7XnB5wk/s400/in_n_out_logo.jpg


In-N-Out Burger finally will make its debut in San Antonio.

The popular fast-food chain plans to open its first restaurant in the Alamo City on Thursday at 10918 Culebra Road just west of Loop 1604.

Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and development for In-N-Out, confirmed the opening in an email sent to the Express-News on Wednesday.

The far West Side location will open every day at 10:30 a.m. and close at 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and at 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

_____________________________

THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY HAS AN OVER

30 BILLION DOLLAR ECONOMIC IMPACT IN SAN ANTONIO (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2014/11/20/economic-of-san-antonio-s-health-care-biosciences.html)

http://i.imgur.com/vauhHx1.jpg
RENDERING OF THE PLANNED METHODIST HOSPITAL EXPANSION IN THE MEDICAL CENTER




W. Scott Bailey
Reporter/Project Coordinator-
San Antonio Business Journal

The economic impact of San Antonio's leading industry — health care and the biosciences — is now $30.6 billion annually, based on 2013 data, according to a new study by Trinity University professors Richard Butler and Mary Stefl.

That's a significant increase compared to 2012, when the estimated economic impact of the industry was $23.5 billion.

Ten years ago, back in 2003, the economic impact of the industry was less than $12 billion.

More than 32 percent of the economic impact from health care and the biosciences is driven by the city's highly competitive hospital sector. Pharmaceutical, research and education activity accounts for another 21 percent of the estimated impact.

According to the study, employers in the health care/bioscience industry paid out nearly $8 billion in wages in 2013. More than one in six San Antonio workers are employed by the industry.

Over the last decade, the economic impact from San Antonio's hospital sector has increased by 130 percent. That growth rate can be tied to a number of factors, including continued infrastructure expansion. Methodist Healthcare, for example, has continued to invest in its infrastructure. The health care system and has begun work on a $250 million project that will involve the expansion of two of its South Texas Medical Center hospitals.

In the last 10 years, San Antonio's health care and biosciences industry has added more than 41,500 net new jobs — an increase of 40 percent.

Thanks for all the updates Josh. San Antonio got alot going on. :) btw here's a webcam for the Methodist Hospital expansion.

https://m.oxblue.com/open/Skanska/MHE

San Antonio new 10 story Hilton Hotel U/C.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5503/9649462403_debf8d490f_z.jpg

The old building has been demolished, and construction is well underway.
San Antonio | Hilton Garden Inn | 10 FLOORS | Under Construction - SkyscraperPage Forum (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=207259)

VITRE │ SIX FLOORS │ MIXED-USE │ 242 UNITS

The historic Maureaux Building in the Westend of downtown is set to become attached to a new six story mixed-use residential development called Vitre.


CURRENT SITE
http://i.imgur.com/T0Lz9gG.png

http://i.imgur.com/0s9SuJH.png

http://i.imgur.com/DJHOdJl.png


RENDERINGS
http://i.imgur.com/dJlJtI1.png

http://i.imgur.com/jOeSuag.png

LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/2EQpvUf.png (http://i.imgur.com/TysSgSy.jpg)

111 W JONES │ RIVER NORTH │ SIX FLOORS │ RESIDENTIAL │ 205 UNITS

New development in the River North area that will be built on the Museum Reach section of the Riverwalk. It will feature 205 units as well as two and half levels of parking built into the first two and half floors of the building.

CURRENT SITE
http://i.imgur.com/eYyLXcj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/n0mLKJC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/kxwSavI.png

http://i.imgur.com/IcSFYEO.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HvFg4ld.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iouihM6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nOcbZll.jpg

LANDSCAPING MASTERPLAN
http://i.imgur.com/xj4F1zB.jpg

LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/KcSXgDT.png (http://i.imgur.com/UO7q9eK.jpg)

SOJO CROSSING │ TOBIN HILL │ THREE FLOORS │ RESIDENTAL │ 27-UNITS


A new single-family townhome project will be built on the west side of the San Antonio River Museum Reach.

SOJO Crossing will be constructed at the southeast corner of Myrtle Street and East Euclid Avenue near the Pearl Brewery and Hotel Emma.

According to SOJO Urban Development, the townhome complex will include 27-units ranging from 1,600 square feet to nearly 2,200 square feet.

The three-story homes will feature modern, industrial design and include enclosed garages, fenced yard spaces, an option to add an elevator, and balconies with scenic views of the city. Four unit types are available, each with three bedrooms and either three or three and a half baths.

Prices range from $400,000 to $650,000 per unit.

Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2015 with completion expected in spring 2016. King William Realty, the property's listing agent, is currently accepting unit reservations.



LINK (http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat/news/2014/12/03/townhome-project-to-be-built-on-museum-reach.html)

RENDERINGS
http://i.imgur.com/WOk7avi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/kdySqQF.jpg

LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/3NkcImi.png (http://i.imgur.com/3AABYNZ.jpg)

LANDMARK CENTRE │ SUBURBAN AREA │ MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT │ UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Landmark development in far northwest San Antonio (SE corner of 1604/10) has been renamed as Landmark Centre and the renderings for the first midrise office building have been revealed.

Landmark One is a six story office building with an attached five story parking garage. Future plans call for two other similar sized office buildings to be built adjacent to Landmark One and the parking garage. Landmark Two and Landmark Three.

As mentioned in a previous post, plans also call for 900 residential units, currently under construction and a multi-story hotel with attached parking structure.




LANDMARK ONE

http://i.imgur.com/h9jdziu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7ipBCjT.jpg

LANDMARK CENTRE SITE PLAN
http://i.imgur.com/HKwP77x.jpg

LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/wvWZaS2.png

MARGARITAVILLE AND THE YARDHOUSE PLANNED FOR THE SHOPS AT RIVERCENTER

The Yardhouse and Margaritaville are both planned for The Shops at Rivercenter in downtown, as it currently undergoes a major redevelopment including the name change from Rivercenter Mall.

The two restaurants will occupy space on the west side of the Riverwalk lagoon.

This will be the second Yardhouse in San Antonio and the first Margaritaville.


http://i.imgur.com/ycLm6lY.png

http://i.imgur.com/8IqydNA.jpg

OFFICIAL RENDERINGS OF THE FUTURE CIVIC PARK IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO

On Tuesday, Hemisfair Park Redevelopment Corp. revealed the final designs for the Civic Park within Hemisfair Park in downtown San Antonio. This is the second phase (of three), within the greater Hemisfair Park redevelopment area (http://i.imgur.com/W5bhIzN.png), and will begin construction in 2016 with a finish date of early 2018.

Phase One is Yauangana Garden (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/slideshow/Hemisfair-039-s-Yanaguana-Garden-concepts-78527/photo-6400642.php), an active play park which is currently under construction and set to open mid 2015.

Phase Three is called Tower Park and completion for that park is set for 2020.


http://i.imgur.com/odg12qh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/H8nNDJM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oFyGHyS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/h2CwwI9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Eh2Xwx0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hHHdqmd.jpg

SSFCU TO BUILD NEW HQ CAMPUS ON FAR NORTHWEST SIDE (http://bexarwitness.com/ssfcu-announces-new-hq-location/)

http://i.imgur.com/MaGYpKa.png


Security Service Federal Credit Union has announced plans to build their new headquarters at I-10 and Hausman Rd. SSFCU purchased approximately 66 acres from Santikos Real Estate earlier this year.

President, Jim Laffoon commented, "As a growing enterprise we are delighted to acquire this property in such a rapidly developing part of the city. With several business units currently in leased facilities, development of a campus on this site will allow us the ability to consolidate our back office operations for many years to come."


http://bexarwitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-15-at-10.34.19-PM.png
SSFCU PROPERTY FOR NEW HQ


The proposed 250,000 square food headquarters will accommodate the existing 747 full-time positions and 200 new jobs SSFCU plans to add. City Council voted this past week on an incentive package including $ 4 million in tax abatement and a 5-year grant totaling $1.2 million to reimburse SSFCU for public improvements.

The corporate campus, is expected to use less than half of the 66-acres, with the remaining property allotted for future growth and master planned commercial development.


http://bexarwitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/DrorBaldinger151271785859.jpg
EXISTING SSFCU HQ LOCATED ON LA CANTERA PARKWAY

LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/nly7ZPo.png (http://i.imgur.com/grpjgfx.jpg)

SOUTHTOWN FLATS TO BREAK GROUND NEXT MONTH (http://bexarwitness.com/breaking-ground-southtown-flats/#.VJ1gu14D1A)
229-UNIT DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHTOWN DISTRICT

http://i.imgur.com/MwKItIv.png


Denver-based real estate firm Amstar and Houston-based Transwestern Development Co. will develop a 229-unit apartment building in Southtown.

The five-story project at 111 Probandt St. is being buit on 2.3-acres just across the street from the Blue Star Art Complex (http://bluestarartscomplex.com/) and the recently built Cevallos Lofts (http://www.livethecl.com/).

Known as Southtown Flats, the infill development will start to see earthwork activities in January with the first units slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2016. Southtown Flats will be constructed in two five-story buildings surrounding a 4.5-level garage. Aside from stainless steel appliances, each unit will contain quartz countertops, kitchen islands, custom wood cabinets and private balconies.

Community amenities will include a resort-style pool with outdoor kitchens and cabanas; a passive courtyard with a yoga lawn, hammocks, game areas and fireplace; secure bicycle storage rooms; a roof deck with downtown views, grilling stations, dining areas and fire pits; clubhouse with catering kitchen, dining areas, and resident lounge with flat screen television sets; a state-of-the-art fitness center featuring a yoga studio, cardio equipment, free weights and classes provided by FX Fit.



http://bexarwitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/5217a0df0783e847.jpg
PICTURED: CEVALLOS LOFTS


Representatives of Amstar and Transwestern tout Southtown Flats as being close to a rising number of popular restaurants, bars, shopping destinations, and cultural and recreational institutions that either exists or are being developed around downtown and Southtown.

Amstar is developing or has developed a variety of office complexes and residential communities around the United States, with several properties across Texas. Southtown Flats would be Amstar’s first development in San Antonio. “Amstar is thrilled to partner again with Transwestern Development Co. on a Class-A multifamily development,” said Amstar Managing Director Daniel Cohen in a news release.

“San Antonio is still early in its economic recovery and with strong renter demographics, we believe Southtown Flats will be a successful investment.” “We look forward to breaking ground on this luxury community,” said Transwestern Development Co. Associate Vice President Josh Delk in the release.

“Southtown Flats will be constructed to the highest quality finishes that San Antonio renters are seeking. The Southtown neighborhood is in high demand because of its rich culture, new restaurants, art galleries and proximity to downtown.”


LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/sKyoduX.png (http://i.imgur.com/80DsBVm.jpg)

Here's a better image showing the three new parks planned for Hemisfair in downtown San Antonio.


http://bexarwitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/new-hemisfair-map.jpg

The purple and dark green areas will be filled with residential, office, hotel and retail developments.

The pink area to the top right is the new convention center expansion currently under construction. (http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/114706669.jpg)

Here's a fairly recent image of the convention center expansion currently under construction in downtown San Antonio.


http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/114706669.jpg

Hey Josh, awhile back you posted about a street project going on where they are going to widen or reconstruct that street and they are burying the utility lines and it had a beautiful graphic of the area with and without the utility lines. Do you have that graphic handy? I went through this page the other looking for it and spent a good hour or so trying to find it, but nothing.

Hey Josh, awhile back you posted about a street project going on where they are going to widen or reconstruct that street and they are burying the utility lines and it had a beautiful graphic of the area with and without the utility lines. Do you have that graphic handy? I went through this page the other looking for it and spent a good hour or so trying to find it, but nothing.

Are you sure it was me? I don't remember posting anything like that. Do you remember the street name?

__________________________________________


URBAN CORE DEVELOPMENT SUMMARY

There are 23 residential developments, within the urban core, that are either under construction or will break ground in the next six months. These are those 23 developments.


http://i.imgur.com/pPZxMvx.jpg

UNDER CONSTRUCTION


City Vista - 142 units

The Cellars - 102 units

Tobin Lofts (Phase II) - 107 units

East Quincy Townhomes - 25 units

The River House - 261 units

1130 Broadway - 300 units

McCullough Lofts - 107 units

Henry Terrell Building - 10 units

Eilan Riverwalk - 350 units

Peanut Factory - 98 units

Big Tex - 336 units

The Park at Lone Star - 28



Total: 1,866 units under construction



UNDER CONSTRUCTION WITHIN SIX MONTHS


The 840 - 47 units

The vitre - 242 units

111 W Jones - 205 units

Sojo Crossing - 27 units

307 Dwyer - 272 units

Merchant Ice Lofts - 230 units

Lavaca Townhomes - 4 units

Water Street - 210-250 units

Southtown Flats - 212 units

St. John's redevelopment - 250 units

Misson Park - 345 units



Total: 2,044 - 2,084 units under construction within six months

_________________________________

ALAMO HEIGHTS GETS A NEW MIXED-USE PROPOSAL (http://www.therivardreport.com/new-proposal-broadway-austin-highway-development/)
150-UNIT DEVELOPMENT WITH TWO STORIES OF UNDERGROUND PARKING PROPOSED FOR ALAMO HEIGHTS

http://i.imgur.com/0yuxgH1.jpg
RENDERING OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT


Richard Peacock Jr. is a patient man and a good listener. Owning and operating the popular Paloma Blanca restaurant on Broadway in Alamo Heights has taught him the value of effective communications with customers and employees alike. The product is important, but so is the service, and so is taking the time to engage everyone who has a stake in the process.

As a principal with Broadway Ellwood Co., Peacock has come to see his fellow Alamo Heights residents as worthy of the same careful communications. That’s why he and his partners, who include Edward Kopplow, founder and chairman of Kopplow Construction, one of San Antonio’s leading commercial construction companies, sent a timely installment of their “Dear Friends and Neighbors” letter to Alamo Heights residents on Tuesday.

The letter went out at the same time that Broadway Ellwood, working with San Antonio-based Overland Partners, Austin-based Argyle Residential, and Dallas-based Good Fulton, and Farrell, filed development plans with the City of Alamo Heights for a four-story, 150-unit mixed-use project on the corner of Broadway and Austin Highway. As envisioned, the project could include a restaurant with outdoor patio seating, a cafe, or other ground-level retail and become the catalyst for a more pedestrian-friendly redevelopment of Alamo Heights’ declining commercial corridor. A large green space fronts the development on the corner.


http://i.imgur.com/Vh3ccws.jpg


Tuesday’s filing will place the project on the Architectural Review Board‘s January agenda, and the letter will give residents the opportunity from the outset to stay informed and involved, Peacock said. After preliminary review and comment by the seven-member design board, the project would then go to the 12-member Planning and Zoning Commission, then back for a second architectural board review and final recommendation, and finally on to the five-member City Council.

Broadway Ellwood Group Principal Richard Peacock Jr. Richard Peacock Jr.
“We would like to be through the process by the end of spring, and my best guess is that we could break ground before the end of 2015,” Peacock said.

The proposal comes nearly one year after Dallas-based Alamo Manhattan abandoned plans for a six-story, 240-unit development on the same corner that met with opposition from a small but vocal group of Alamo Height residents. City officials withheld approval of the project and a second, scaled-down version.

Broadway Ellwood and its partners hope the community responds positively to the project’s scaled down size and contemporary Mediterranean design, which complements the vintage Mobile gas station with its trademark rooftop Pegasus on the southeast corner of Austin Highway and Broadway, and the nearby McNay Art Museum with its Spanish Colonial Revival mansion.



http://i.imgur.com/877z7cx.jpg

“One of the major mistakes we made on the first go-around was that we didn’t get involved in (the beginning of) the conversation, we were just the property sellers,” Peacock said. “We really liked the developer, but we disagreed on their initial strategy in that what they proposed was substantially larger than what we anticipated or felt we could support.”

The new proposal comes after months of reflection and study. That included an open letter from Peacock published on the Rivard Report in April.

“We decided we needed to take a step back and a deep breath, and take some time to reflect on the events that led up to the vote and how we could do things differently,” Peacock said. “One thing about a spectacular defeat: it was very public and we had a lot of good people call us afterwards who were not scared off, and Argyle was one of the entities that called us.”

Argyle Residential is the developer for 1130 Broadway, a 290-unit multi-family project located on the east side of Broadway in River North near the Pearl Brewery, coincidentally almost across the street from Overland Partners’ offices.


http://i.imgur.com/gNvnTfc.jpg
RENDERING OF 1130 BROADWAY. CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN RIVER NORTH


Broadway Ellwood and many of its supporters in Alamo Heights want the development on Broadway and Austin Highway to spark a broader renewal of the small municipality’s commercial corridor. Right now, they believe, Alamo Heights is missing out on something bigger and risks losing more businesses to more inviting, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

South of Alamo Heights below Hildebrand, Broadway continues to experience a remarkable transformation as a residential, commercial and cultural corridor that began more than a decade ago with Silver Ventures redevelopment of the Pearl Brewery complex. The growing vitality of Southtown and other inner city neighborhoods, and efforts by Rackspace Founder and Chairman Graham Weston and others to spur downtown redevelopment have come to symbolize San Antonio’s drive to rebrand itself as “a city on the rise,” able to retain and attract talented young professionals and their families.

(Read more: Alamo Heights Vote All About Broadway Corridor.)

“In our view this isn’t just about getting a deal done on this particular piece of property,” Peacock said. “This is about the future of our community and how we choose to move forward. One thing we are trying to do with this development is create a sense of walkability and connection in this community. If you look at the streetscape up and down Broadway in Alamo Heights right now we aren’t inviting people to walk along the street, we are daring them to do so.”

To accelerate reinvestment in the Alamo Heights stretch of Broadway, Peacock and his partners are asking city officials to set aside the incremental tax revenue from the development, which they estimate will exceed $100,000 annually, and invest it in sidewalks, crosswalks, shade trees and other corridor infrastructure. Those improvements, they believe, would attract greater private sector investment.

“This project can facilitate improvements beyond our property lines, and so we see it changing the trajectory of the business corridor along Broadway,” Peacock said. “One of the positives that came out of the previous effort was a very clear sense that the vast majority of citizens recognize the current state of things and do want to take positive steps to improve it.

“We are a community full of possibilities, but it’s largely unrealized,” Peacock said. “The younger people are not only demanding an honest appraisal of our retail sector – they want to see a plan enacted for revitalizing it.”


LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/g1WwLPX.png (http://i.imgur.com/xwDzHEX.jpg)

Found a couple of cool pictures.

The first is a picture of the Shops at La Cantera. A high-end open air shopping center on the far northwest side.


http://i.imgur.com/SNaLIX4.jpg

The second picture is of the Residences at La Cantera. It is the first of many residential developments (including future high-rises) planned for the La Cantera (http://lacantera.com/) master-planned development on the far north side.


http://i.imgur.com/KHnOp2A.jpg

La Cantera (http://www.lacantera.com/) is a large master-planned development in far northwest San Antonio that began development in the late 80s. First came a resort hotel and golf course. Then came Six Flags in the early 90s. After that, things stayed quiet until the Shops at La Cantera opened in 2005, a second phase would open in 2009. In late 2014, the Residences at La Cantera (http://www.lacanteraliving.com/) opened and in 2014 work began on Westridge at La Cantera (http://www.westridgeatlacantera.com/).

Below is the master-plan for La Cantera. As you can see, the Town Center aspect of the development will be massive and include residential, office and hotel high-rises. The first part of the Town Center to break ground was the first Residences (http://i.imgur.com/OdZ2SpC.jpg) [image (http://i.imgur.com/OdZ2SpC.jpg)], which, as you can see is one of three buildings planned for the Residences.


http://i.imgur.com/hDI3rlX.jpg

As you can see, I listed Eilan (http://i.imgur.com/LH4Bg7p.jpg) and The Rim (http://i.imgur.com/Ggju6fw.jpg) in the master-planned, as they're both near by developments and a point of reference.

Josh, my wife and I stayed at the JW Marriott in (outisde of, but still has a San Antonio address) San Antonio and noticed a lot of apartments being built very close by. Have you highlighted those in all your posts and I just missed it?

Josh, my wife and I stayed at the JW Marriott in (outisde of, but still has a San Antonio address) San Antonio and noticed a lot of apartments being built very close by. Have you highlighted those in all your posts and I just missed it?

That area is called Cibolo Canyons and is within the city limits of San Antonio. It's a few mile's east of Stone Oak, a very rapidly growing master planned community. With its close proximity to Stone Oak and the J W Marriott and TPC golf course, Cibolo Canyons is also growing rapidly and tons of upscale apartment developments are being built.

To answer your question, no, that is not an area I've highlighted before. I have highlighted Stone Oak before.

Btw, how was your stay? Hope you enjoyed it and got to explore some of our city and metro area.

That area is called Cibolo Canyons and is within the city limits of San Antonio. It's a few Mike's east of Stone Oak, a very rapidly growing master planned community. With its close proximity to Stone Oak and the J W Marriott and TPC golf course, Cibolo Canyons is also growing rapidly and tons of upscale apartment developments are being built.

To answer your question, no, that is not an area I've highlighted before. I have highlighted Stone Oak before.

Btw, how was your stay? Hope you enjoyed it and got to explore some of our city and metro area.

We went back in September (Labor Day) and it was amazing, but we never left the hotel so we didn't get to explore any. We have some good friends in Austin so we stopped there on our way there and the San Marcos outlet mall on our way back. It was what we like to call a Babymoon, our last vacation before our daughter was born (which was three weeks ago). The only issue we had, but we had this other places are the seat squatters at the pool. These are the people who come downstairs at 6am, put their towel on a chair and leave it there for four hours until they come back down at 10am or later. The restaurants were very good, the service was excellent, everyone was very friendly and it was just the right amount of time. I am not sure of your age, but if you ever want to go and find the pools too loud or frustrating with the seat squatters, pay $15 a day to use the spa pool. It was amazing...

Good to hear. Did you take 281 to TPC Parkway or 1604 to Bulverde?

Btw, next time y'all are in town, I'd be happy to show y'all around. Show you the hidden gems and the really cool parts of the city.

We took a lot of backroads. It was 1604 to Green Mountain Road to Evans Road to TPC since we were coming from Austin.

Oh ok, so you missed the log jam known as 281. lol

If you go back to about page 3 or 4 of this thread, I did a photo series on Stone Oak, which as I said, is a few miles from the JW/Cibolo Canyons. Here it is (http://www.okctalk.com/other-communities/35797-san-antonio-%7C-deep-heart-4.html#post716105).

I just remembered I profiled Cibolo Canyons in a post a couple of pages back. Here it is (http://www.okctalk.com/other-communities/35797-san-antonio-%7C-deep-heart-15.html#post834670). It was in a "20 Wealthist San Antonio Neighborhoods" list.

Are you sure it was me? I don't remember posting anything like that. Do you remember the street name?Yeah, I'm almost positive you posted it. I think it was numerous projects you had in one post and it was at the bottom of the list. I can't remember the name, but I think the street was outside of downtown area(sure that narrows it down for you ;P) and it had a FlatIron type building in one of the pictures.

_____________________

CASABLANCA THREATRE RENDERINGS

http://i.imgur.com/RL2rGr5.png

San Antonio movie theater chain, Santikos, broke ground a couple of months ago on their newest theater. To be called Casablanca, the theater will be located in the rapidly booming Alamo Ranch community on the far west side. The Casablanca will be in the same vein as their last theater, the Palladium (http://i.imgur.com/RUUCaU9.jpg), but the Casablanca will be larger and feature a 16-lane bowling alley.

While the Palladium has a Greek design and theme to it, the Casablanca design will have a Spanish theme.


http://i.imgur.com/fGqJYe5.jpg

This theater has been long in the making and was originally supposed to be be built, although in a smaller version, at 1604 and Potranco Rd. a few years ago but was delayed for unknown reasons.

Santikos then bought the Alamo Ranch land and decided to build the theater there instead as well as increase the size and scope of the theater. This will be the first theater on the far west side.


http://i.imgur.com/1Sj9INo.jpg

Here is a recent construction picture.


http://i.imgur.com/apFaIAP.jpg

LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/md8st5V.png

Another day, another residential development planned for the urban core.


200-UNIT DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR MUSEUM REACH AREA IN RIVER NORTH (http://www.expressnews.com/real-estate/article/Developer-interested-in-part-of-VFW-for-apartments-5995592.php#/1)
WILL BE ADJACENT TO THE OLDEST VFW POST IN TEXAS

http://i.imgur.com/8XNHKvo.jpg


An out-of-town developer has asked VFW Post 76, the oldest post in Texas, to consider letting it build on more than half its 1-acre property along the Museum Reach, the veterans group said Monday.

The inquiry, regarding the complex’s rental hall and parking lot, came from SCB Bodner Co. Inc. of Indianapolis, VFW Post 76 Commander Albert Mireles Jr. said.

“Some of the guys are pretty emotional about this whole thing,” Mireles Jr. said. “They think that we’re trying to sell the building. We just want to make sure they understand this is just a proposition, this is not a bid for sale.

“In my opinion, I don’t see the membership actually wanting to sell any part of the property,” Mireles Jr. said.

SCB Bodner, Mireles Jr. said, is looking to build roughly 200 apartment units on property next door — formerly Turner Club Inc., the bowling club that opened in 1940 but moved to Judson 2012 because of rising property taxes tied to the Museum Reach upgrades.

Among the propositions, Mireles Jr. said, is a partnership between SCB Bodner and VFW Post 76 in which part of the new development would include rental space and parking for the post.

“What they’re doing is making a proposition, not actually purchasing at this point, but saying listen would y’all be interested in trying something out with us, joining us in this venture,” Mireles Jr. said.


http://i.imgur.com/LJBPogw.jpg
DETAILED MAP


The property in question takes up more than half of the VFW Post 76’s property — but doesn’t include the iconic Victorian-style house that overlooks the San Antonio River.

SCB Bodner told VFW Post 76 that even if it chooses not to sell, SCB Bodner said it would go ahead with the apartment project.

The former Turner Club Inc. currently is owned by the Texas General Land Office. Jim Suydam, press secretary for the GLO, confirmed Monday that the property was under contract with an unnamed buyer. He said the deal is expected to close in late March. No other details were released.

“None of that will be public until after the deal closes after March,” Suydam said in a voicemail.

Mireles Jr. said SCB Bodner approached the veterans group with the proposition in November. The post’s 1,700 members have been notified about a Jan. 13 meeting to discuss it.

Requests late Monday to SCB Bodner for an interview were not returned.


LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/XGM74RQ.png

Found this on Reddit and thought I'd share it with you guys. It's a video featuring long boarding but it showcases areas of the far north and far northwest sides of San Antonio. That's really the only reason I'm posting it as it's slightly nsfw and generally off topic.

Enjoy.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Cp1mxBJuc

delete please

http://i.imgur.com/NgW4E5s.png

EMBASSY SUITES PLANNED FOR BROOKS CITY-BASE ON SOUTHEAST SIDE (http://www.therivardreport.com/new-hotel-serve-brooks-city-base-southside/)
TO BE PART OF A 30-ACRE MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT

http://i.imgur.com/iHWp30t.png


Construction of a 155-room Embassy-Suites hotel is scheduled to begin next spring at Brooks City Base. The hotel, owned by Hilton, will be the first and only full service hotel on the burgeoning Southeast side.

Land and equity put forth by the Brooks Development Authority, which owns more than 1,300 acres of land enveloping the former U.S. Air Force Base, will soon be the site of the $35 million, six-story hotel at the intersection of South New Braunfels Avenue and Southeast Military Drive.

“There is no full-service hotel between downtown [and] Corpus Christi or Laredo, so there’s a whole community on this side of town without access to one,” said Leo Gomez, CEO and president of the BDA.

That nearby community includes the Toyota plant, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, as well as Brooks City Base tenants including Mission Solar manufacturing plant, DPT Laboratories, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, and more.

The new hotel will include about 8,000 square feet of convention and event space, along with a high-end restaurant, a ballroom that will accommodate about 400 people, two executive boardrooms, a spa, and more.

The hotel will be located on six acres along the northern portion of the campus, closest to Southeast Military Drive and New Braunfels Avenue, and will be surrounded by high-end retail establishments and restaurants, which will be built on the other 25 acres of vacant land in the next three to five years, Gomez said.


http://i.imgur.com/MPaN6tk.jpg


The mixed-use development will hopefully appeal to students at the nearby Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering and faculty and administrative staff at the Texas A&M University College of Business. The University of the Incarnate Word’s Osteopathic Medical school will open in 2016.

He said the new site will reflect the designs of sites including the Woodlands-Sugar Land and the Pearl Brewery.

The ambiance of a mixed-use development will attract large employers to the area around Brooks, he said.

“We now have some of the highest retail centers in the area that used to be a base – among the retail near Military and Goliad Road – is the highest-grossing-per-square-foot Best Buy and James Avery in town,” Gomez said. “We’re looking to build on those types of operations.”

He said the BDA had just secured a franchise agreement for Hilton before the holidays and would be working with developer Phoenix Hospitality Group to complete the design of Embassy Suites – Brooks City Base by Hilton Hotels, as it’s officially called.

The U.S. Air Force ceased operations at Brooks City Base on Sept. 15, 2011, ending 94 years of military activity at the historic installation.


LOCATION
http://www.picresize.com/images/rsz_1rsz_samapfullbrooks.png

http://i.imgur.com/NgW4E5s.png

This is the same community that I mentioned a few days ago as being the site of the new Santikos theater (http://i.imgur.com/fGqJYe5.jpg). It is also home to San Antonio's first In-N-Out burger (http://i.imgur.com/D4iVYwG.jpg), which opened in November.


ALAMO RANCH AMONG TOP-SELLING MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/blog/morning-edition/2015/01/alamo-ranch-among-top-selling-masterplanned.html)

ALAMO RANCH RANKED SIXTH IN THE NATION

http://i.imgur.com/rOsEOLj.jpg


Alamo Ranch is the sixth top selling master-planned community in the U.S., according to a report by John Burns Real Estate Consulting LLC.

The far west side community sold 600 homes in 2013 and 585 homes in 2014. Because the community is still growing and kept its net sales high, Alamo Ranch moved up from the No. 10 spot last year.

Alamo Ranch is a large community of more than 3,000 acres located by Loop 1604, State Highway 151 and Culebra Road. The developer of Alamo Ranch is locally based Galo Properties, which broke ground on the project in 2006.


ALAMO RANCH TIMELAPSE (2005-2014)
http://i.imgur.com/Wt2xDaR.gif


LOCATION
http://i.imgur.com/cVJf3bD.png