Want to watch a $40 million sale of prime downtown real estate? Just stroll down Nueva Street on the right day.
On a midafternoon in March, the sun beat down on a small circle of people gathered on the lawn between the Paul Elizondo Tower and the Bexar County Courthouse.
Lawyer James Rogers was the focal point of the gathering. Dressed in brown trousers, a checkered suit jacket and tinted sunglasses, he read from a thick stack of papers and described the property lines of the Thompson San Antonio River Walk Hotel.
Open in 2021, luxury hotel overlooks the River Walk from its northern, Museum Reach stretch. At the top of its 20 floors of hotel rooms and luxury condominiums sits the rooftop bar the Moon’s Daughter.
In 2024, the building was put up as collateral for a $44 million loan.
Rogers was serving as a substitute trustee for that loan agreement between two realty trusts and Lex Avenue LLC, the owners of the Thompson Hotel.
The 20-story downtown high-rise has a mix of hotel rooms and condominiums and had been hit with a foreclosure notice after Lex Avenue LLC and DC Partners, which opened the building in 2021, failed to repay the $44 million loan, according to the notice.
After describing the location and geography of the property at the March 3 auction, Rogers looked at the dozen or so onlookers that had assembled on the lawn and asked if anyone was interested in purchasing the Thompson.
A representative from Southern Realty Trust Holdings spoke up and read a number from their phone. Southern Realty Trust had loaned DC Partners the $44 million, according to a foreclosure notice filed with the county, and had credit for the purchase from the unpaid loan.
The company bid just over $40 million.
“Do we have any bids over $40,584,215?” Rogers asked, looking around and checking his watch. “Going once at $40.584 [million]. Going twice. Sold for $40,584,215.”
Just like that, a prime piece of Riverwalk real estate — with a rooftop bar and 162 hotel rooms — was sold on the side of a sunny downtown street.
Properties are often auctioned there on the first Tuesday of every month. Usually, foreclosed houses are sold in the same courtyard next to the Bexar County Courthouse. Onlookers gather under canopies and on camping chairs to watch or participate.
DC Partners were given four opportunities to pay off the loan after it took it on in December 2024, according to the foreclosure notice. Issues at the Thompson stemmed from a struggling hotel market in San Antonio, DC Partners stated.
The sale only applies to the common areas and hotel, not residential units or condos that have been purchased individually. Hyatt manages the hotel rooms.
“We want to reassure our colleagues, guests, customers, and community that Hyatt will continue to manage the hotel under its current management agreement. At this time, we do not expect change in operations or service levels at the hotel in connection with the transition,” read a statement from the company.
Camille Peretz, an account director for the firm that manages public relations for the Thompson Hotel, confirmed that Southern Realty Trust is the building’s new owner.
The $44 million loan came from Sunrise Realty Trust and Southern Realty Trust, companies based in Maryland and Delaware, respectively. The registered agent for both companies is the Corporate Creations Network, a company that provides business and registration services for various clients.
A representative for the new owners did not comment on Tuesday after the auction and did not disclose their name.
