Market at Pearl planned for former Samuels Glass Co. building

Editor’s note: The HDRC approved the design concept for the Market at Pearl at the Samuels Glass Co. building. Read more.

Silver Ventures, the developer behind the Pearl, is planning to restore the former Samuels Glass Co. building, 221 Newell Ave., into a market that will include four restaurants and a bar.

Details on the exact renovations will go before the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) on Wednesday. At the same meeting, Silver Ventures, through its Rio Perla Properties, LP, subsidiary, will also ask the commission to back its request to name the 1948 building as a local landmark, which would be the Pearl’s sixth landmark.

[ View the HDRC’s agenda for Nov. 3, 2021 ]

“Modifications to the existing warehouse’s exterior are planned to be minimal and respectful to the building’s original design,” according to a letter from local architecture firm Clayton Korte to the city’s Office of Historic Preservation.

The building, designed by San Antonio architect Bartlett Cocke, was used by the Samuels Glass Co., which was founded in 1914 by Lawrence Samuels, from the time it was built until 2017, when the company relocated.

In 2018, the Zoning Commission approved the rezoning of 11 properties, including the Samuels Glass Co. building, as well as the Fox Motel site—both on Newell Avenue. The rezoning gave Silver Ventures the permission to renovate or build virtually anything it wanted: apartments, a high-rise office building, a hotel, a brewery, outdoor music venues and restaurants.

[ » Related: Rezoning allows Pearl to add more apartments, hotel rooms, offices and breweries | Sept. 5, 2018 ]

According to documents submitted to the city, Silver Ventures is planning four areas for a restaurant to occupy, a fifth area for a bar tenant, and then a larger market space, which will include a kitchen.

A timeline or cost estimates are unknown. It’s also unclear from the documents is the Market at Pearl, which is what it’s called in the documents, is modeled after another urban market in the U.S.

Bill Shown, managing director of real estate for Silver Ventures, did not immediately return a request for an interview.

The Samuel Glass Co. building, which is located across the Pearl’s Southline apartments, also on Newell, is being used as storage for the Pearl campus.

Restoration plans include the restoration of the roof and exterior windows and doors. “Bricks will be salvaged and stored to replace any damaged materials beyond repair elsewhere on the project,” according to submitted documents. Streetscape upgrades are also planned to make all sides of the building more pedestrian friendly.

At the local level, the building is eligible for landmark status because of its architecture, its association with a familiar name (Lawrence Samuels) and its “unique location … that make it an established or familiar visual feature,” according to city requirements.

The project could be eligible for a tax incentive from the city for “substantial rehabilitation of historic properties,” as well as state and federal historic tax credits.

The City Council must ultimately approve a historic landmark designation locally.

Heron Editor Ben Olivo can be reached at 210-421-3932 | ben@saheron.com | @rbolivo on Twitter