Hixon-Cavender adds to Broadway holdings

A partnership between Hixon Properties and the Cavender auto family has added another acre to the footprint of the mini-neighborhood it is developing in north downtown with the purchase of two properties between Broadway and Avenue B.

In late February, the partnership purchased a three-story warehouse at 931 Broadway, kitty-corner to Maverick Park and across the street from NRP Group’s Flats at River North apartment complex, and a windowless building at 930 Avenue B, county deed records show.

The properties amount to about 1.1 acres, which means the partnership now owns nearly 10 acres stretching roughly between Sixth Street and 10th Street along Broadway and Avenue B, giving it a wide canvas on which to develop a neighborhood of offices, housing and retail.

The seller was Iron Mountain Information Management, a document shredding and records management company, the records show. The sale price was not disclosed. The Bexar Appraisal District assessed the properties at a total of $4.4 million last year.

The Hixon-Cavender partnership completed the first piece of its mini-neighborhood last year with the construction of the Soto, a six-story building offering 140,000 square feet of high-class office space. John Beauchamp, Hixon’s chief investment officer, said in January that the partnership planned to next break ground on a food-and-beverage market in two historic buildings behind the Soto.

[ Read more: Hixon-Cavender partnership plans next phase of Broadway mini-neighborhood ]

“We spent over a year designing the concept we have in mind, touring the country for relevant projects,” Beauchamp said in January. “So what we will ultimately offer is going to feel very new for San Antonio, and it will bring the best of what we’ve seen throughout the country.”

As of January, no tenants had moved into the Soto. Beauchamp said leasing had been slow because of the pandemic. He did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

The partnership plans to develop its other properties with a mixture of office, retail and residential uses, Beauchamp said in January. The office space will likely be concentrated on Broadway and the residential on Avenue B, he said.

There is other development activity nearby. Last fall, CPS Energy finished construction of its $210 million headquarters at 500 McCullough Ave. A couple blocks southeast of Hixon-Cavender’s property holdings, GrayStreet Partners is renovating the historic Light building into class A office space with plans to finish work in July.

Richard Webner is a freelance journalist covering Austin and San Antonio, and a former San Antonio Express-News business reporter. Follow him at @RWebner on Twitter

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