The last of the Handy Andy supermarkets closed in the 1990s.
But the doors are sliding open on its former Eastside headquarters and distribution center, remade into a mixed-use development with 35 industrial live-work lofts.
A grocery store or some other amenity at what is now fittingly called The Andy may not be too far behind — if developer Rich Gottbrath of the Austin-based real estate investment firm Value Creation Strategies can fulfill his vision.
Located at 215 Coca-Cola Pl. near the AT&T Center, the adaptive reuse development is 160,000 square feet of two-story flexible residential and workspace lofts that Gottbrath’s firm started building out with Brayco Enterprises almost two years ago.
“When I first started looking at this area [to invest], I was looking at a Class A apartment complex at the end of Coca-Cola [Place],” Gottbrath said of a 300-unit, multifamily complex that was in need of renovation. Then, he stumbled upon the nearby East Commerce Lofts at 3363 E. Commerce St.
Wondering how the development of 20 lofts built from an old meatpacking plant by Gene and Betty Braden in 2014 appeared to be so successful in that part of the city, Gottbrath started talking to the tenants.
“People are in love with it, … this dynamic where I can live and work and have this great industrial aesthetic,” he said.
To replicate that success with The Andy, he entered into a partnership with the Bradens’ Brayco Enterprises that in 2017 was approved for up to $222,000 in incentives from the Inner City Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) for The Andy project.
The project was awarded another $1.5 million in TIRZ funding in 2018.
In 2021, Gottbrath’s firm acquired the building after the Bradens struggled to get financing during the pandemic, he said. The couple is now the general contractor on the project, which is nearly finished.
Six units are already leased, including one being used as campaign headquarters for Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert. Some of the flexible units, which range between $3,000 a month in rent and $6,000, have access to a grassy courtyard that replaced the old rail spur at the center of the development.
Nearest the roadway, a cavernous 20,000-square-foot space within the structure is suitable for a large commercial tenant. Soon, the outer east-facing block wall will be changed out for a glass and steel front, similar to a grocery store.
Gottbrath said he is working to find a retail partner that will deliver on what he calls his big vision for The Andy.
“I want something in there that’s going to be a value-add to the members of this community, because this part of town has been promised a lot by a lot of people who have failed to deliver on it,” he said. “I don’t want to be one of those people.”
In a light industrial area that has failed to develop to the level many expected when the AT&T Center was built alongside the Freeman Coliseum in 2002, those plans are enbraced by advocates for the East Side.
The Andy is a welcome change, said Michelle Lugalia-Hollon, chief strategy officer at San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside (SAGE).
“They’re bringing to life a spot in the community that has been in need of something to complement the arena there, as well as the light industrial and the warehouses,” she said.
In most cases, when the community sees new development on the horizon, “we try not to get our hopes up too much,” said Lugalia-Hollon. But the tides seem to be shifting due to city and county policies that intended to promote affordable housing.
“We know for sure that the future and the success of our community is having people on the streets, people living in our community, so that we can have a vibrant economy as well,” she said.
Gottbrath also is planning a restoration and remodel of the former Spaghetti Warehouse building, a historic property he purchased in April. The Hugo, as he calls that project, is expected to provide office space in a burgeoning “innovation district” on the near East Side.
