Los Angeles-based BH Properties, which purchased the former CPS Energy building at 146 Navarro St. earlier this year, plans to refurbish the office space, while adding a two-level restaurant on the ground level.
The ground-floor will be converted into a “food and beverage venue … with exterior dining and porches facing the river and La Villita,” according to plans submitted to the Historic and Design Review Commission, which will consider them on Wednesday. They call for modifications to the exterior, which include new landscaping and pavings, screenings on the parking garage facade, and the installation of two art panels.
» Main office building, 145 Navarro St.
» Navarro building and garage, 146 Navarro St. — SOLD
» Tower garage connected to main office, 211 Villita St. (portion owned by CPS Energy)
» Surface parking, adjacent to Mexican Consulate
» Villita Assembly Building, 401 Villita St.
» Northside Customer Service Center, 7000 San Pedro Ave.
» Former Jones Avenue Service Center, 326 W. Jones Ave.
In February, BH Properties, a commercial real estate firm, purchased the 10-story office building and parking garage on the River Walk from the utility for $22.3 million. CPS Energy had occupied the building since it was built in the late ’60s.
The building is composed of three levels of office space totaling roughly 100,000 square feet, which sits on a 605-space parking garage.
BH Properties plans to open the garage for public use, Andrew Van Tuyle, the company’s senior managing director of investments, told the Heron earlier this year.
“The vast majority of downtown San Antonio is, I would say, under-parked,” Van Tuyle said. “You have a lot of hotels and office buildings that just don’t have enough parking to be able to offer their tenants or visitors so they have to find parking other places. We can offer something to the market which really truly doesn’t exist.”
[ Related: CPS Energy sells 10-story building on San Antonio’s River Walk to California firm ]
The building is one of six in the downtown area CPS Energy announced it was selling back in 2018. The other properties for sale include the utility’s former headquarters across Navarro Street, and the Villita Assembly Building, 401 Villita Street.
CPS Energy moved into its new $210 million headquarters at 500 McCullough Ave. in November, after renovating two towers that had been previous occupied by AT&T and Valero Energy Corp.
Heron Editor Ben Olivo can be reached at 210-421-3932 | ben@saheron.com | @rbolivo on Twitter
I think the planned reuse described in the article is a great idea. The two-story restaurant overlooking the River is brilliant. As is the use of the garage for public parking.