CPS Energy’s 6-acre property located along the River Walk is on the market, though perhaps not for long.
“Interest levels have been very strong in a short period of marketing,” said Asher Reilly, first vice president of commercial real estate firm CBRE, who is marketing the property at 326 W. Jones Ave. on behalf of the utility.
The land offering came about after CPS Energy, which had initially planned to donate much of the property to the San Antonio Museum of Art, changed course.
In November, board members voted to convey only a 1-acre parcel to the adjacent museum and sell the rest.
“It is our hope that the remaining 6 acres will become an asset for our community as well,” stated Rudy Garza, interim president and CEO of CPS Energy, in an announcement from CBRE. “We’re proud to have served our customers and community out of the Jones Avenue facility for nearly a century.”
CBRE would not disclose an asking price for the land, which was appraised this year at $11 million for each of the 3.4-acre parcels owned by CPS Energy and the City of San Antonio, which owns the energy utility. Directly across the river, the 3 acres of property developed as the River North Apartments are appraised at a combined $64 million, according to tax records.
Situated near the Pearl and the central business district, the CPS Energy property has 300 feet of River Walk frontage and lies within the Midtown tax increment reinvestment zone, which could help an owner or developer recover some of the costs to develop the land.
A partially deconstructed office and light industrial building, unused for a number of years, remain on the property. On nearly all sides of the wedge-shaped parcel, several multifamily residential complexes have been built in recent years as new development has boomed in the River North area.
“The property was just recently made available to the market and the interest levels have been very strong in a short period of marketing,” stated Reilly in an email Wednesday. “This is a unique opportunity in a highly constrained land market, and we expect it to be highly competitive.”
Museum officials declined to talk about their plans for the 1-acre parcel. But staff and board members have said previously there’s a need for more storage for the museum’s collection of nearly 30,000 objects and for exhibition space to display collections and touring exhibitions.
CPS Energy has jettisoned much of its downtown property in recent years, properties considered surplus after the utility moved into the former AT&T headquarters on McCullough Avenue in 2020.
In April, CPS Energy relisted its distinctive Villita Assembly Building, looking to sell the former event space in the La Villita Historic Arts Village.
CPS Energy is a financial supporter of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of business members, click here.
