CaptureRx will relocate its expanded corporate headquarters into the former San Antonio Light building at 420 Broadway St.
In March, the San Antonio-based company had announced it would move around 200 employees into the Kress building on East Houston Street. However, executives reconsidered when the Light building became available. Local developer GrayStreet Partners owns both buildings.
The configuration of the Light Building will better accommodate the company’s desire to set up outward-facing employee offices and collaborative workspaces, with conference rooms and other spaces in the middle of each floor, CaptureRx’s Chief Financial Officer Craig Howard said.
“We’re already seeing the impact of the new location on recruitment,” said Becky Simeon, senior vice president for human resources and administration at CaptureRx. “Many are moving downtown and employees tell us they enjoy the experience of both living and working downtown.”
Pending City Council’s vote sometime in October, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County are slated to approve incentive packages of about $1 million combined. Both the City and the County must renew the incentives contracts due to CaptureRx’s switch from the Kress to the Light building. Bexar County Commissioners will likely vote sometime late October, Bexar County Economic Development’s Deputy Director Jordana DeCamps said.
Included in the City’s incentive package is a $614,000 Economic Development Incentive Fund (EDIF) grant and a waiver of about $158,000 in San Antonio Water System fees. CaptureRx will also receive a 100% City property tax abatement for up to six years, with monitoring that would be phased out over four years, said Rene Dominguez, the City’s economic development director. The monitoring is part of tax abatement incentives put in place to ensure the company complies with the terms of the package.
The County is offering a $120,000 cash incentive from its Innovation Fund and a 10-year, 90% property tax abatement valued at $281,000, according to Bexar County Economic Development Executive Director David Marquez.
Howard said moving into the Light Building will allow the company to grow and attract talent and, thus, fulfill its mission of putting affordable medication in the hands of patients in need.
CaptureRx uses its customized IT platform to manage one of the largest 340B programs in the country. The federal 340B Drug Discount Pricing Program requires drug manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to eligible healthcare organizations at significantly reduced prices. CaptureRx operates the nation’s largest 340B contracted pharmacy network, growing steadily since its founding in 2000.
“With our focus on customer obsession and wellness for our employees, we are always looking to attract talent to the company across different skill sets, such as in IT [information technology], pharmacy operations, and health care,” Howard said. “As people are looking to come into the urban core we feel our location at the Light building will help attract that talent to our company and downtown San Antonio.”
GrayStreet Partners purchased the entire city block that contains the Light building as well the adjacent property just to the south in December 2016. The 1931 Spanish Colonial Revival building was home to the San Antonio Light until the Hearst Corporation closed the 112-year-old newspaper in 1993. The location encompasses 3.13 acres that include the historic Light building, the adjacent, so-called Print building and parking lot, and the 300 block of North Alamo Street, as well as two nearby historic buildings and two parking lots.
GrayStreet plans to develop the site into a total of 76,000 sq. ft. of upscale office space and is in the process of clearing the building’s interior of old structures. It will redevelop the Light Building’s four floors (56,000 sq. ft.), while the smaller Print building (20,000 sq. ft) behind it will be a two-story structure with the top floor dedicated to office space. The Print building was constructed around 1969 and housed the Light’s printing presses and newsprint storage facility. The two buildings are connected via a skybridge.
“GrayStreet plans to build a core structure to link the two buildings which will house the main entrance of the building that now will be on its side,” Howard said. “The connecting structure will connect the second floor of the Light building to the upper floor of the Print building.”
GrayStreet officials have said they are interested in tenants occupying some retail space in the Light building, on its rooftop, or on the bottom floor of the Print building.
CaptureRx’s initial commitment is to 48,000 sq. ft. with right of first refusal to accept an additional 14,000 sq. ft., Howard said. He also said there is an “anchor tenant” already committed to the first floor of the Light building.
That tenant is architectural firm ford, powell, & carson, its Principal Adam Reed confirmed. The company also is part of the Light building redevelopment project and has a lease in place to occupy its first floor by spring 2018. Reed said he plans to convert the Light building’s solid back wall into one with views.
“The back wall will get floor-to-ceiling glass looking toward downtown and will bring in great views, which should be a great selling point for the building,” Reed said. “We are tracking to go in front of the HDRC [Historic and Design Review Commission] for our final review in early October.”
The new headquarters will position CaptureRx in the middle of the Broadway corridor, which is slated to receive a $43 million makeover as part of the 2017 bond.
“Many of our staff are excited about the new location that is within a couple of blocks of the growing tech corridor,” Howard said. “We feel like we are well positioned to be a part of that growth.”
“This area connecting the Pearl to downtown is bustling and exciting, on par with the excitement and investment that’s happening downtown,” GrayStreet Partner Kevin Covey said. “We’re just excited to be working with CaptureRx regardless of the building, and we’re happy to have them as our tenant.
“What’s important is that they remain committed to relocating to the urban core.”
