USAA Real Estate Partners with Patrinely Group for New Office Development in La Cantera

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

San Antonio is preparing to receive a new office development on La Cantera Parkway. USAA Real Estate Co., the owner and master developer of La Cantera, and Patrinely Group L.L.C. announced to local brokers their collaboration on the WestRidge project. 

La Cantera evolved into the favored business and retail destination of the area due to  existing or in-progress developments such as The Westin La Cantera Resort, The Shops at La Cantera and The Residences at La Cantera. Forty-two acres allocated to the property will be transformed into four office buildings, each totaling approximately 128,700 square feet of Class A office space. Construction on WestRidge One will begin during the fourth quarter of 2013 and will be the first of the four four-story office buildings proposed. The property’s design aims to qualify for LEED Silver certification.

The local listing broker on the project is Travis Commercial Real Estate. “WestRidge at La Cantera will combine efficiency with the most attractive new office project in San Antonio.  The access, amenities and the strength of the development team of USAA Real Estate Co. and Patrinely Group will set WestRidge apart from any other office developments in the city,” said Chuck King, co-founder of Travis Commercial Real Estate Services, in a press release.

Property management and leasing services will be under the care of Crimson Services L.L.C., an affiliate of Patrinely Group. It currently manages approximately 3 million square feet of Class A office space throughout the country.

USAA Real Estate is a subsidiary of the leading financial services company USAA, which serves military families since 1922. It manages assets worth approximately $12 billion, providing co-investment, acquisition, build-to-suit and development services for corporate and institutional investors.

The development partner, Patrinely Group L.L.C., is a nationally recognized real estate development firm with 30 years of experience. It specializes in commercial office and residential projects.

Photo credits: www.westridgeatlacantera.com

Marcus & Millichap Gains Listing for 240-Unit San Antonio Apartment Complex

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

Bandera Commons, the 240-unit apartment complex in San Antonio, has become the exclusive listing of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, with the price to be determined by the market. Senior associates Joe James and Kent Myers, together with associate Reynold Greenway, all from the Austin Marcus & Millichap office, will act as brokers for the seller, a private investor.

Located at 8120 Mainland Drive, the three-story apartment complex was built in 2002 on 11 acres. Among the usual amenities, the 190,464-square foot community offers luxury features such as a swimming pool with heated spa, a resident clubhouse with full-service business center, a 24-hour fitness center, a laundry facility and upscale units with ample floor plans. 

“Bandera Commons is located adjacent to Leon Creek Greenway, a popular 15-mile recreation trail,” said James. “Currently 97 percent occupied, the complex is a true high-quality value-added asset.” The property is also strategically positioned near several of the city’s strongest employment centers, according to Myers.

Founded in 1971, Marcus & Millichap is the largest firm specializing in commercial real estate investment services, with nationwide coverage.

According to a Marcus & Millichap market report for the second quarter of 2013, San Antonio’s vacancy rate is expected to go down to 5.5 percent, thanks to job creation that will elevate demand for rentals in the metro area. Due to expansions of employment, effective rents will rise 4.4 percent year over year, following an increase of 4.2 percent last year.

Chart courtesy of Marcus & Millichap. 

Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Receives $20M Donation from Goldsbury Foundation

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

The Goldsbury Foundation announced its contribution of $20 million to the renovation of Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. This is the most consistent donation in the history of Christus Santa Rosa Health System. The sum will be paid out over the next five years.

“We strongly believe this would be the best place for the sickest child,” Suzanne Mead Feldmann, the foundation’s executive director, reported to My San Antonio. “We believe mission rather than margin means you end up taking care of the most important thing, and that is our children. We think it makes a lot of sense to take a facility that exists and repurpose it to be a first-class, Tier 1 children’s hospital.” 

The generous gift will allow the nonprofit healthcare system to redirect some of its $135 million scheduled for the hospital toward other uses. The donation will also help Christus keep up with improvements being pursued by other area hospitals. The Methodist Children’s Hospital, for instance, is investing $10 million from the Methodist Healthcare System in upgrades, while Vanguard Health Systems and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are constructing a new pediatric hospital within the South Texas Medical Center.

“We have tracked this issue for a long time,” added Feldmann about the multiple children’s hospital projects. “We believe (Christus’ hospital) is the right project.” The money will be used to build exterior gardens that include a play area for children, a healing garden, family-center amenities, and health and wellness initiatives. An entrance on North San Saba and a two-story lobby are also part of the architectural plan.

Goldsbury Foundation is a private family foundation that was established by Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury after he sold his billion-dollar Pace Foods Ltd. to the Campbell Soup Co. in the early ‘90s. It has a history of working with Christus Santa Rosa.

The design phase of Children’s Hospital of San Antonio is complete, and construction is scheduled to begin late this summer. The project is expected to be completed in late 2014.

Photo credits: www.facebook.com/ChildrensHospSA

LaSalle Group to Build City’s First Memory-Care Community

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

The LaSalle Group, a leader of the seniors industry with more than 10 years of experience in the field, in partnership with MedProperties Investment Partners L.P. and Frost Bank, recently announced plans to build the firm’s first memory-care community in San Antonio. Called Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak, it will be located at 20272 Stone Oak Pkwy. and is expected to open in the spring of 2014.

“The LaSalle Group has a unique approach to memory care, and we see the value the company brings to communities across the country,” Darryl Freling, the managing principal of MedProperties, a private equity fund with a specialized investment strategy in healthcare real estate, said in a statement to the press. “We are thrilled to partner with The LaSalle Group, and we hope to help make a difference in the lives of families in the area.”

The project’s cost is estimated at $10.7 million. It will deliver a 30,000-square-foot innovating memory-care community designed for 50 residents with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other forms of memory impairment. Autumn Leaves communities already exist or are under construction in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Tulsa, Edmond and Atlanta.

Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak is specially conceived to allow residents access to the entire building and the outdoor areas. The on-site staff will receive extensive training specific to the mentioned afflictions.

“We have a tremendous level of expertise when it comes to memory care,” said the president of The LaSalle Group, Mitchell Warren. “We want to provide families with peace of mind, and give them a place where they know their loved ones feel at home.” Autumn Leaves of Stone Oak will also offer cost-free programs such as seminars, support groups, memory testing and respite care.

Photo credits: www.facebook.com/pages/Autumn-Leaves-Memory-Care

LGI Buys 200-Acre Site at Luckey Ranch, with Plans to Build 800 Homes

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

LGI Homes announced the purchase of 208 acres of land on San Antonio’s Far West Side, with plans to build approximately 800 new homes. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The deal is part of a larger master-planned development in the area, called Luckey Ranch, which spans more than 610 acres of land and will eventually include 2,400 homes.

This is the second acquisition for LGI within Luckey Ranch. In 2011, the Houston-based developer acquired a 93-acre residential land parcel within the development. That parcel was approved for 393 lots, of which more than 218 are already sold and occupied, according to a company news release.

The company has been actively developing within master-planned communities in the Texas region, capitalizing on strong demand for affordable single-family homes in the Alamo City, a trend fueled by new job growth. “San Antonio is the third-fastest-growing area by population in the U.S., homes are reasonably priced and job growth is expanding,” said Edward Kalikow, president & CEO of The Kalikow Group. The Kalikow Group acquired the Luckey Ranch site in 2007.

The new homes will range in size from 1,200 to 2,600 square feet, and in price from $129,900 to $172,900, according to the San Antonio Business Journal.

LGI Homes was named one of 2012′s “Best Companies to Work For” by Texas Monthly magazine.

Luckey Ranch existing LGI homes photo courtesy of PR Newswire.

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Holiday Inn Riverwalk Ready for Tourists After Undergoing $13M Renovation

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC has just completed a $13 million makeover of its Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk. The hotel near the River Walk underwent a full renovation.

The two-story lobby now features a more open and modern feel, Anthony Johnson, regional director of operations & the general manager of the property, told the San Antonio Business Journal.

Additionally, the hotel now features new bathrooms with upscale fixtures, an integrated contemporary design, stainless steel and opaque glass in the décor, as well as hardwood floors in all of the more than 300 rooms and suites, according to the property’s Web site. “Every element of this hotel was revamped,” Johnson added.

Included in the renovation project is a new restaurant, called the Windows On The River Restaurants, which offers spectacular views of the iconic River Walk.

Meanwhile, San Antonio-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas plans to open its first Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in New Braunfels, with franchise partner Reel Dinner Partners. The company, which currently operates three theaters in the Alamo City, is expected to invest about $3 million in its fourth property, which will be called Alamo Drafthouse New Braunfels Marketplace.

According to an official company statement, the 35,311-square-foot MarketPlace 12 Theater will be transformed into a state-of-the-art location with 11 screens and the only dine-in movie theater in New Braunfels. The new location will also feature a lounge – Glass Half Full – with an extensive menu of beers, wine and food.

Photo credits: Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel

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Walmart to Hire 275 People at Northeast Supercenter

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Walmart Stores Inc. is looking to hire about 275 full- and part-time employees at its new Supercenter, along Binz-Engleman and Foster Road, which is expected to open this spring.

The Northeast project is one of the four that the Bentonville, Ark.-based company is currently developing in the Alamo City. The four new stores, which will open in phases throughout this year and 2014, will create approximately 1,200 new jobs. “We are excited to add a new Walmart to San Antonio and bring good jobs with great career opportunities to the area,” said Michael Weder, store manager for the Foster Road Supercenter, as quoted by the San Antonio Business Journal.

The other Walmart Supercenters set to open this year are located at:

• Leslie and Bandera roads, just northwest of San Antonio in Helotes;
• The intersection of Woodlawn and Bandera, on the West Side;
• Thousand Oaks Drive and Nacogdoches Road, on the Northeast Side.

In 2014, the company will open a new Supercenter at Wurzbach Parkway and Blanco Road.

Meanwhile, H.E. Butt Grocery Co. is building a new 96,000-square-foot store in the Rio Grande Valley community of Palmhurst. The company expects to open the store in late fall, according to The Monitor.

The H-E-B store will be located at the corner of Highway 107 and Three Mile Line, across the street from the Walmart store, which opened in 2005 and has been attracting other smaller retailers and hospitality businesses in the area.

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Two San Antonio Apartment Communities Change Hands

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

The San Antonio apartment market is attracting investors, as evidenced by two important multifamily properties changing hands recently.

Sierra Ridge Apartments

Sierra Ridge, a 230-unit apartment community on the city’s North Central Side, gained a new owner on Feb. 14: Omaha-based Metonic Real Estate Services, which purchased the gated community on behalf of investors. The property, which was 94 percent occupied at the time of the sale, features an updated clubhouse with a business center and a fitness center. Outdoor amenities include a lighted tennis court, a sport court and a two-tiered pool with sundeck.

According to the San Antonio Business Journal, the new owners plan to upgrade the 30-year-old complex, focusing mainly on extensive interior improvements.

“The San Antonio market boasts excellent fundamentals,” said Bob Dean, president of Seldin Co., told the San Antonio Business Journal. Seldin Co. is in charge of  management duties at the complex.

View at Encino Commons Apartments

Meanwhile, another investor entered the San Antonio market in February, when McCann Realty Partners L.L.C. acquired the View at Encino Commons Apartments, a 324-home, garden-style community. Built in 2001, the multifamily property includes amenities such as an elegant clubhouse with a fitness center, a resort-style swimming pool and a movie theater. Pegasus Residential L.L.C. was selected as the complex’s manager.

“We have been targeting the San Antonio market for quite some time due to its dynamic job growth prospects and strong business climate. McCann plans to do a modest interior and amenity upgrade to the property,” said McCann’s chief investment officer, Brand Inlow, in a statement.

Inlow expects to see growing rents in the Alamo City over the next several years, a reason why the company is actively looking to add more apartments in the city.

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146-Room Boutique Hotel Planned for Pearl

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

The Pearl development will gain a new boutique hotel next year, as Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants was selected to operate a 146-room project on the former brewery site.

According to the San Antonio Business Journal, the four-star hotel will be located in a 119-year-old structure that used to house the brewhouse. Slated to open in the fall of 2014, the San Antonio hotel will be Kimpton’s third in Texas, with two others in Dallas.

Woodbine Development Corp. was already selected to develop the project, which will be designed by Roman and Williams.

The boutique hotel will include two new restaurants, a roof-top pool, venue space facing the San Antonio River and a cocktail bar. A new six-story tower behind the original brewhouse will house the hotel rooms.

“San Antonio is emerging as a hot destination for culinary travel, and Kimpton has a great reputation for chef-driven restaurants,” Elizabeth Fauerso, chief marketing officer at Pearl, told the San Antonio publication.

Pearl is a 22-acre urban neighborhood two miles from the center of downtown and adjacent to the northern Riverwalk. Plans call for additional residential and commercial projects, including the Cellars and Bottling House, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Once these projects are complete, the original Pearl campus will be entirely developed.

Image credits: atpearl.com/real_estate

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Brookhollow Park Office Building Changes Hands

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

The San Antonio office of Transwestern has recently brokered the sale of Brookhollow Park – a 102,466-square-foot Class A office building. Located in the North Central submarket of San Antonio, the multi-tenant building is currently 100 percent leased.

Built in 1999, the four-story property is considered to be a solid asset for investors, providing above-average returns. Due to its established investment-grade tenant base and location, Brookhollow Park represents a low-risk investment. The city’s North Central submarket has been recording vacancy rates that historically trend below the San Antonio city-wide average.

“Investors recognize the value in stable Class A office investments,” said Alan Grilliette, managing director with Transwestern, who teamed up with Hale Umstattd and Leah Gallagher to represent the seller in this transaction, Grosvenor International. The buyer was not disclosed.

The downtown office market had a tough 2012, ending the year with 333,000 square feet of negative absorption. Moreover, its vacancy now stands at more than 30 percent, according to the San Antonio Business Journal.

Still, the future looks bright for the downtown submarket; according to Gallagher, 2013 will mark a larger volume of office deals in the Alamo City due to three main factors: its proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale, the bilingual workforce and the fact that investors are turning their attention to secondary markets like San Antonio as prices for office properties in the larger core markets have risen above what many buyers are willing or able to pay, the business journal reported.

Photo credits: Grosvenor International

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