A few of downtown San Antonio’s oldest buildings will change into its latest houses.
Builders are turning previous lodges and workplace buildings into new condo complexes. Such is the case of the Tower Life Residences, set to open in 2026, which was constructed almost 100 years in the past and served as a Sears division retailer.
Peter Brodnitz, chief advertising and marketing officer for McCombs Enterprises, partnered with different builders to purchase the Tower Life Constructing on St. Mary’s Road in 2022 with an eye fixed on remodeling it into condo housing. Brodnitz sees an urge for food for city dwelling that may fill greater than 200 residential models, together with studios, one- and two-bedroom models and three bigger penthouses.
“There wasn’t as a lot of a name for downtown workplace house,” Brodnitz mentioned. “[Housing] is what San Antonio wants.”
Lower than a mile away, downtown developer Weston City is constructing one other mixed-use growth, within the Continental Lodge, constructed round 1896.
“The Continental Residences presents quite a lot of ground plans, together with studios, one- and two-bedroom models, and even townhomes. And there’s vital selection inside these classes,” mentioned Mary Ullman Japhet, who’s serving as a spokesperson for Weston City on the mission.
The Continental Residences are even nearer to completion and pre-leasing for these 290 models has already began.
Is there a marketplace for extra flats?
Between the Continental Block and Tower Life Residences, 500 models of upscale flats will hit downtown San Antonio over the subsequent yr. Rents within the space have dropped during the last 12 months by 1.4%, however individuals nonetheless need to transfer into downtown, mentioned Danny Khalil, affiliate director of market analytics for CoStar Group.
“We’ve seen fairly sturdy demand downtown, actually within the final decade, for multifamily dwelling,” Khalil mentioned.
CoStar Group owns advertising and marketing web sites houses.com and flats.com.
Downtown San Antonio tends to have larger demand and occupancy charges in comparison with different elements of San Antonio, Khalil mentioned. Whereas rents dropped barely over the previous yr in downtown, Khalil mentioned, the price of hire dropped by 3.4% all through the broader San Antonio-New Braunfels space.
Khalil expects to see building downtown lower within the close to future.
Residential growth elevated after the pandemic, he mentioned, when rates of interest have been low and it was simpler to amass capital for giant initiatives. Builders began gathering funds and designing initiatives in 2021 and 2022, Khalil mentioned, and people initiatives are solely arriving now.
It may not be the identical in two or three years.
“Since 2023, there aren’t that many condo complexes getting off the bottom,” Khalil mentioned. “You’re not going to see a lot get [built] in 2027.”
Who will stay in these new communities?
Individuals like Brodnitz see these new buildings as communities.
“The thought is to activate the house and activate the neighborhood,” he mentioned.
Each the Continental Block and Tower Life Residences will embrace industrial house. McCombs remains to be making an attempt to determine how greatest to make use of its giant basement and River Stroll-facing house, Brodnitz mentioned, however he needs these to be extra oriented towards residents somewhat than vacationers.
“It’s not going to be vacationer T-shirt retailers,” he mentioned.
Tower Life Residences hasn’t established month-to-month rents but, however Continental Block has. Half of the models there might be reserved for residents who make lower than San Antonio’s space median earnings, roughly $62,000 for a one-person family.
“The worth for income-restricted flats ranges from $1,200 to $1,932.00 per 30 days. All different flats replicate the downtown residential market fee,” Japhet mentioned in an e-mail.
Truthful market hire for a one-bedroom condo in downtown San Antonio is round $1,260 and would require somebody to earn greater than $24 an hour, in keeping with the Nationwide Low-Revenue Housing Coalition.
Kayla Miranda, the housing and justice organizer for the Coalition for Tenant Justice, mentioned she is anxious about downtown affordability for low-income residents.
The federal authorities defines any renter that spends greater than 30% of their earnings on housing as cost-burdened. That features hire, utilities and different costs.
Individuals making a median earnings of round $62,000 would be capable to spend round $1,550 per 30 days on housing. Miranda mentioned utilities and different month-to-month housing prices may complete between $200 and $400.
Miranda mentioned she is anxious that the prices of building and financing capital initiatives by borrowing from banks are driving up rents in new buildings and that different landlords will observe swimsuit.
“The individuals who stay in San Antonio will be unable to afford to stay in downtown,” she mentioned.
