Two major San Antonio River development projects came before the Historic Design and Review Commission (HDRC) on Wednesday afternoon: a downtown hotel and a Museum Reach apartment complex, signaling that the urban growth boom in San Antonio is still accelerating.
Read about the 21-story hotel design that has developers going back to the drawing board to present at a future HDRC meeting here.
The second presentation to the HDRC on Wednesday will transform a long-vacant bus garage into the latest multifamily development located in or near the Broadway Corridor and the San Antonio River. The proposal calls for the demolition of the 1929-era Terminal Motorbus Garage at 815 Avenue B.
Conceptual designs were approved by the HDRC for the 305-unit apartment by a partnership that includes David Adelman of AREA Real Estate, developer Ed Cross, and architect David Lake of Lake/Flato Architects. Construction is expected to begin before year’s end and be completed in approximately 18 months.
A seven-level parking garage will be accessible from 9th Street and surrounded by a six-level string of housing units. The lounge, gym, spa, restaurant, and lobby all feature a river view – as do some apartments. Adelman said it’s too early in the process to predict how much the project with cost or the price of rents.
“Now the hard work begins,” he said. The team will come back to HDRC with more detailed plans. “At the conceptual stage it’s just pretty pictures, at the final approval you have to really have your stuff together.”
The River North project is located across the river from the Wyndham Garden Riverwalk hotel and just one block north of the Brooklynite cocktail bar in an area with its fair share of large, vacant buildings – including the Cavender auto dealership at 801 Broadway St.
It’s also a neighborhood that has its fair share of “urban pioneers,” Adelman said, citing businesses and people that have recently moved to the area like Overland Partners, Rosella Coffee, and 1221 Broadway residents.
“It was through their efforts that we continue to build projects,” he said. “If not for tenants (and) residents being responsive and voting with their dollars, there would be projects like this.”
*Featured/top image: 815 Avenue B at the corner of 8th Street. Photo by Scott Ball.
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