A major piece of the ambitious multi-phased development on the northwest corner of Hemisfair is going to the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) for conceptual approval on Wednesday.
The renderings by FitzGerald Associates Architects of Chicago show two buildings on East Market Street—between South Alamo and the River Walk, as it enters the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center—opposite the Grand Hyatt from the river.
One building is a 29-story, 360-unit apartment tower with a 7-level parking garage and 25,000 square feet of retail space that faces East Market, an envisioned plaza called Source Plaza at the corner of South Alamo and East Market, and inward toward the Civic Park.
The other building is a three-story retail structure with two floors above ground and another at river level—totaling 30,000 square feet of space.
Developer Post Lake Capital Partners of Austin is building both structures.
The land is owned by the Hemisfair Park Public Facilities Corp., a nonprofit entity that’s tied to the city of San Antonio, and is included with other parcels that front South Alamo and East Market. The city has leased all of the parcels to Zachry Hospitality.
[ Heron: City Council approves new agreement with Zachry for long-delayed Hemisfair project | April 7, 2022 ]
The buildings are designed to encircle the Civic Park, which is currently under construction, while providing a revenue stream for Hemisfair’s upkeep and programming, as well as help activate the park at all hours—from shoppers and event-goers to the residents themselves.
“Bring the locals, and they will bring in the tourists,” Hemisfair CEO Andres Andujar told the San Antonio Business Journal. (He declined an interview with the Heron ahead of the HDRC vote.)
Critics of the design say public land should not be used for private development.
The Hemisfair design is part of the park’s master plan that was completed in 2012, four years after the City Council voted to form the nonprofit governmental entity Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corp. to oversee the rebirth of the site of the ’68 World’s Fair.
Supporters say the development continues the Decade of Downtown vision introduced by former Mayor Julían Castro, whose policy was to incentivize the building of residential units as the main strategy for reviving the urban core.
It’s unclear if Post Lake Capital Partners is applying for tax incentives, or other subsidies, from the city or county. The property tax exemption, which Hemisfair has the power to issue, appears to be off the table because all of the units will be market-rate. (State law requires half the units to be reserved for people making up to 80 percent of the area median income if the tax exemption is used).
The buildings are next to the future Source Plaza on corner of East Market and South Alamo, which will serve as the main entrance into the Civic Park and other areas of Hemisfair.
Zachry is also subleasing another parcel facing South Alamo slated to become a roughly-175-unit apartment building with more retail.
The company is keeping another parcel that also faces South Alamo with plans to develop it into a 17-story hotel.
[ Heron: “Zachry Hospitality submits design for Hemisfair’s 17-story boutique hotel” | Sept. 6, 2022 ]
The exact timeline for construction is unclear, but both Hemisfair and city officials have said all of the development on the northwest corner of Hemisfair—the residential buildings, the hotel, the Civic Park—must be completed in time for the NCAA Final Four in April 2025. Residential developments typically take two years to build.
A spokesperson for Zachry forwarded an interview request to Post Lake Capital Partners, whose executives could not be reached for comment.
— Ben Olivo
Hemisfair residential tower
Of the roughly 360 apartments, all will be market-rate-priced, and about 60 percent of them will be studios and the rest one-bedroom units, Michael Breclaw, a principal at FitzGerald, told members of the HDRC’s Design Review Committee on Sept. 27. The development team also met with the committee on Oct. 11.
The building includes a parking garage clad in limestone and a tower covered in metal paneling and glass.
One of the building’s retail spaces totals 18,741 square feet and will face East Market, Source Plaza and Civic Park. The other totaling 6,398 square feet will face East Market.
The parking garage will have parking for residents of the building, the general public, and also valet parking for guests of the Zachry hotel.
An amenities deck on Level 9 includes a clubhouse, fitness room, yoga studio, swimming pool and what appear to be three pickle ball courts.
It will also tower roughly 351 feet, making it one of the tallest buildings downtown, and one of the most concentrated in terms of residential units.
By comparison, local developer Weston Urban is building 300 Main—a 32-story, market-rate apartment tower at 305 Soledad St. that will rise approximately 400 feet and total 354 apartments.
Details
» Address: East Market Street at Hemisfair
» Developer: Post Lake Capital Partners (Austin)
» Property owner: City of San Antonio (Hemisfair Park Public Facilities Corp.)
» Type: Residential
» New or reuse: New construction
» Status: Planning stage
» Height: 29 stories, approx. 351 feet
» Land size: 1.4 acres
» Rent or buy: Rent
» Total units: 360
» Market rate: 360
» 80% AMI: None
» 70% AMI: None
» 60% AMI: None
» 50% AMI: None
» 40% AMI: None
» 30% AMI: None
» Student Units: None
» Section 8: Unknown
» Retail: 18,741 square feet
» Office: N/A
» Hotel: N/A
» Parking: Seven-level garage, number of spaces unknown
» Construction start date: Unknown
» End date: Unknown
» Architect: FitzGerald Associates Architects (Chicago)
» Cost: Unknown
» Investors: Unknown
» Financing: Unknown
» San Antonio Incentives: Unknown
» SAWS Fee Waivers: Unknown
» City Fee Waivers: Unknown
» City Loans: Unknown
» Est. City Property Tax Rebate: Unknown
» Tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ): Unknown
» Bexar County incentives: Unknown
» Texas incentives: Unknown
» Federal incentives: Unknown
» Total public subsidy: Unknown
» Cashflow/ROI: Unknown
» Affordable housing fund (City of San Antonio) contribution: Unknown
Hemisfair retail building
The building would add four retail spots totaling roughly 31,000 square feet to Hemisfair and the East Market corridor, as well as connect to the River Walk.
They include a 10,338-square-foot space on the river level; a 6,573-square-foot space and a 4,211-square-foot space at street level; and one that totals 9,689 square feet on the second floor.
» Address: East Market Street at Hemisfair
» Developer: Post Lake Capital Partners (Austin)
» Property owner: City of San Antonio (Hemisfair Park Public Facilities Corp.)
» New or reuse: New
» Status: Planning stage
» Height: 3 levels (1 river; 2 above street)
» Total square feet: 30,811 square feet
» Land size: .07 acres
» Parking: N/A
» Construction start date: Unknown
» End date: Unknown
» Architect: FitzGerald Associates Architects (Chicago)
» Cost: Unknown
» Investors: Unknown
» Financing: Unknown
More renderings
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