With the flip of a switch, BBVA Compass announced its growing presence downtown by means of a bright blue lighted sign atop the city’s tallest building on March 2.
The lighting of the prominent signage at the Weston Centre and the viewing party at the nearby St. Anthony Hotel herald the bank’s relocation of its San Antonio corporate offices from 200 Concord Plaza to the modern high-rise in the coming months.
“This [signage] is significant because we are part of the city’s landscape. Whenever people drive through and around the downtown area, they’ll see us as a prominent part of San Antonio,” said BBVA’s San Antonio Commercial Banking Manager Ryan Parker in an email to the Rivard Report.
In May 2016, BBVA Compass signed on to lease more than 9,000 sq. ft. on the first floor of the Weston Centre for retail banking space, and more than 19,000 sq. ft. on the second floor for corporate offices. The second floor space has been renovated over the past year to provide an open layout that encourages collaboration and innovation, a design implemented in other BBVA offices around the world, including Madrid, Mexico City, Dallas, and Houston.
About 70 employees will work in the new offices, set to open in early May.
“This sign represents our headquarters moving into downtown during a time of exciting revitalization in this all-important area,” Parker said. “We see a bright and bold future for downtown San Antonio, and that is why we wanted to not only have our name be part of the city skyline, but also to be part of the growing business and tech wave this city is riding.”
Located in the heart of downtown on East Pecan Street and the San Antonio Riverwalk, the 32-story Weston Centre is owned by the Weston family. Major tenants include law firms Dykema Cox Smith, Jackson Walker, Haynes and Boone, and wealth managers Morgan Stanley.
BBVA Compass is a leading U.S. banking franchise located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas, and ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share. It operates 10 branches or ATMs in San Antonio.
The BBVA Compass sign appears in blue lettering at the very top of both sides of the Weston Centre.
We have just lost our lovely downtown skyline. I appreciate the bank’s presence but not their presentation. That sign is garish and out of proportion. It’s a billboard more appropriate in Times Square.
It seems like an exaggeration to say that San Antonio’s downtown skyline has been “lost”. This is after all the tallest office building in the city. It’s not like it was built on the Alamo.
The signage is illegible at most distances, and looks out of place on the pink granite facade of the Weston Centre. An unfortunate appendage to an otherwise decent and unassuming building facade. The only thing I can’t decide is if it looks worse during daytime or nighttime hours. Who approved this?
SO UGLY.
This is a terrible installation. It is a notch worse than the USAA signage on One Riverwalk. Both are examples of crudely applied signage with a complete disregard for the architecture. Whomever approved it should be fired.
This sign looks very out of place on this type of building, but I’m sure someone’s pockets were with filled with money to have this ugly sign placed on this beautiful building. Looks to be made of Legos.
It looks like one of those temporary signs put up while waiting for the real one to be made.
Horrific. Looks like a block of cement. Can’t believe city allowed this. It’s not legible so the sign is a bright blue eyesore at night. The view from Southtown is now a joke. I guess if your lost just follow the cobalt eyesore. With all the city restrictions this has got to be a case of some one you know.
This was approved way back in 2016. The HDRC was OK with it. Go figure.
https://sanantonio.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4248604&GUID=395E2592-ED21-4634-AD06-803FEB644001
You’re welcome.
Yikes. This was done by one of the best architecture firms in the city. Just goes to show you that their A-Team was not on this project.
Unfortunately it looks like a big temporary Band Aid during the day. At night however it does add some color to our skyline.
Give some credit to the HDRC for the progressive effort!
Downtown San Antonio will look like a Las Vegas in a few years with more flashing lights on buildings and corporate signs on top of every skyscraper. I hope the new Frost building will pulse and throb with light in sync with the mariachi band playing at Mi Terra.
Visual pollution. So sad being forced to see this blight from my balcony day and night.
A blight upon the city skyline. This seems to be the unanimous opinion of parties that I surveyed over the weekend. I would also imagine that it will serve as a detriment to the BBVA brand in town.
The only good thing is that perhaps the bank will be purchased by another bank that will have better taste!