GrayStreet Partners has purchased 1.4 acres of property just south of City Hall, including the old Kallison’s Western Wear, the downtown developer confirmed to the Heron Monday night. The San Antonio Express-News first reported the transaction.
“We however do not have immediate plans for it and (are) currently exploring options,” Tomoko Iimura Alavi, GrayStreet Partners spokeswoman, wrote in an email.
The cluster of small properties on the southwest corner of Dolorosa and South Flores streets, which was collectively valued at $6.5 million this year by the Bexar Appraisal District, is composed of historic retail buildings and parking lots.
Earlier this year, Austin development firm Teeple Partners pulled out of a 21-story apartment tower, which was due to receive $8 million in incentives under the Center City Housing Incentive Policy, WOAI and the Express-News reported in July. The properties were owned by entities PK Realty Inc. and Nueva Corp, according to property records.
GrayStreet Partners’ purchase is the latest in a series of land transactions that show promise for the west end of downtown.
Last week, the University of Texas at San Antonio and local officials announced a downtown campus expansion that includes the creation of three new buildings — for the new National Security Collaboration Center, the School of Data Science, and the relocation of the College of Business — slated for the same stretch of Dolorosa as GrayStreet Partners’ purchase.
UTSA will also partner with the city to refurbish the old Continental Hotel, a block north on West Commerce Street, into housing for faculty, UTSA staff and graduate students.
North of City Hall, Weston Urban, the other developer currently building things in the downtown area, purchased an old two-story commercial building that’s currently home to a 7-Eleven, MetroPCS and VIA Metropolitan Transit information center. The developer is currently shopping around a fourth retail spot, and is preparing the 10,000-square-foot upper floor into creative office space.
A block north on Flores Street, Weston Urban is co-developing the glassy, 23-story Frost Bank tower, downtown’s first office tower since the late 1980s.
Behind GrayStreet Partners’ new property on Nueva Street, the construction of the new federal courthouse is scheduled to begin in February, local U.S. lawmakers said Monday.
In January, crews will begin rebuilding seven blocks of West Commerce Street — from St. Mary’s to Santa Rosa streets — a $15 million bond project that will take 18 months to complete. The upgrades include decreasing the number of lanes from four to three, widening sidewalks in some parts, and installing artistic street furniture and lighting.
In June, work began on the next phase of San Pedro Creek, which starts at Houston Street and the Alameda Theatre and continues south to Nueva Street.
For GrayStreet, it’s the first major purchase into this zone west of the San Antonio River. East of the river, it owns about half of Houston Street, and is currently renovating the former children’s museum into a 15,000-square-foot food hall. It’s also renovating the old San Antonio Light office and print buildings into office space.
Contact Ben Olivo: 210-421-3932 | ben@saheron.com | @rbolivo on Twitter
Where is that grocery store going downtown ? I walked up & down Houston st, but found out that the area i’m Looking for is on Navarro ?? Where is this place from Austin coming to ? Me and a couple of other people would like to know