Bexar County commissioners approved the purchase of a 5-story former bank building on Tuesday through a condemnation process.
Citizens Center, the 55,769-square-foot building at Fredericksburg Road and Loop 410, is slated for county offices in the Northwest Side precinct. It is now occupied by law offices, counseling services, a Frost Bank branch and ECPI University.
Hanover Partnership acquired the building from Colonial Citizens in 2009. The building was most recently appraised at $3.9 million, according to tax records.
Commissioners discussed the acquisition following a “friendly condemnation” hearing on March 5 in which the county and the owners agreed to a purchase price of just over $7 million.
A condemnation hearing is a formal legal proceeding during which a court-appointed panel determines the fair market value of private property taken by the government for public use.
The hearing is meant to ensure the owner receives fair compensation for their property and, in this case, resulted in an appraisal of between $6 million and $8.1 million.
Situated on 4 acres of prime real estate at 4715 Fredericksburg Rd. near Wonderland of the Americas, the building is considered by the county as conveniently located for constituents.
The county plans to consolidate its offices for Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Judge Roberto Vazquez, Constable Leticia Vazquez and the county tax assessor-collector into one location in the building, and potentially provide services to the public, according to county documents.
The county would ostensibly save on operating costs by reducing leased space in the precinct but final decisions about the moves haven’t been made, said Precinct 2 County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez. “I think we’ve been focusing just on the consolidation of the constable’s office, the JP’s office and saving on those leases into a county-owned facility,” he said.
Plans call for the building’s current tenants to be relocated. ECPI University in San Antonio, which provides about 40 students with nursing and tech training programs from the building, has been a tenant for six years, said Shan Pollitt, ECPI campus president.
“We’re in a holding pattern right now,” he said of a potential move, but has no plans to leave San Antonio. “We’re not going anywhere.”
The building’s asset manager for Hanover did not return a call for comment.
