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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