The people behind Pearl are planning a demolition to expand retail at the former brewery.
Oxbow Development Group has submitted plans to the city’s Office of Historic Preservation for approval to raze the existing Garage Building at the corner of Avenue A and Grayson Street and another building across from it.
In its place, the developer wants to build multiple storefronts within 10 new buildings along Avenue A and make improvements to Pearl Parkway.
“This investment reflects Pearl’s ongoing commitment to the community that brings this district to life, from longtime neighbors to new retailers, by creating a more welcoming, pedestrian-first environment for guests,” said Kristina Good, development manager at Oxbow, in a statement.
“This expansion is intentionally designed to enhance the daytime experience at Pearl, amplifying Pearl’s celebrated culinary scene and unique retail offerings.”
The project is an effort to develop that section of the sprawling food and dining destination along the River Walk into something more financially feasible, according to the statement, and to activate one of the Pearl’s most visible corners and make it more pedestrian friendly.
Oxbow has enlisted the designers at Alamo Architects and Don B. McDonald Architects to design the new structures which will draw “inspiration from San Antonio’s historic commercial buildings and the brick detailing that is a prominent element of Pearl.”
Architectural renderings were not made available.
Oxbow also is partnering with Dallas-based 3-O Real Estate Partners to develop the slate of retail offerings that will include a mix of local, regional, national and global brands.
The retailers would add to the Pearl’s existing options, which include Dos Carolinas, Feliz Modern Pop, King Ranch, Yellow Rose by Kendra Scott, The Twig and Tiny Finch, among others.
Specific retailers for the new shopping area were not named.
Omar Gonzalez, director of development at Oxbow, said new retail would help re-balance offerings at the Pearl, which is currently 70% food and beverage.
“Right now, people come to Pearl, and it’s awesome if you’re coming for a meal, and then there’s just not a whole lot to necessarily do before and or after the meal,” he said. The campus goes quiet in the mid-afternoon, “so we think that retail is going to help fill that gap.”
The planned new construction would also occupy space on the east side of Avenue A in place of the former can recycling building that’s slated for demolition, and a surface parking lot.
The existing car parking lots under the highway will remain open and more spaces are available at the Oxbow Building garage at 1803 Broadway St.
The brewery’s old Garage Building, which has sat mostly vacant in the last 10 years, would be razed for the retail expansion.
The brick-sided structure at 250 E. Grayson St. sits north of the Stable Hall performance venue and near 1100 Springs Plaza. Pearl recently opened an 18-hole mini-golf course near the Garage Building.
Built in 1939, the structure was designed not for dining, shopping and fun, as Pearl is known today, but to support vehicle maintenance and service functions for the brewery after horse-drawn beer transportation became obsolete.
Under Silver Ventures’ ownership, in those early days, it became home to the cosmetics firm Aveda until 2013.
Later, two local nonprofits, City Education Partners and C.H.E.F. (Culinary Health Education for Families), called it home. Oxbow said those tenants generated less than $50 over four years.
The developer said it has considered other uses for the building, including an entertainment venue concept and a brewery/restaurant concept in partnership with experienced operators, according to documents submitted to OHP.
Both projects were canceled due to the high estimated cost of construction.
Oxbow’s request to the city for approval to demolish the building states that its orientation on the street, limited transparency, elevated floor level, lack of accessible entries and other conditions limit the building’s marketability and tenant interest.
In addition, the sidewalks surrounding the building are narrow and full of obstacles, such as power poles and signage, Gonzalez said. “It’s just not conducive to really what we’ve done well, which is just making everything feel comfortable and shaded.”
City ordinance protects historic landmarks and buildings from demolition by requiring applicants to demonstrate “clear and convincing evidence supporting an unreasonable economic hardship” to maintain the structure.
In 2022, the city also adopted a deconstruction ordinance that requires certain projects seeking a demolition permit to be fully deconstructed, also known as “unbuilding,” to salvage and recycle usable materials.
Oxbow’s request provides a list of materials from the Garage Building it plans to salvage for reuse in the proposed retail development, including the brick, a stone date stamp, clay coping, windows, skylights and iron downspouts.
Plans also call for refreshing Pearl Parkway, making the main artery on the campus closed to vehicle traffic since 2020 more “guest friendly,” the statement said. Some shops along Pearl Parkway include Adelante Boutique, Rancho Diaz and LeeLee.
Oxbow expects to break ground on the project early next year and estimates completion in late 2028.
Last year, the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) granted conceptual approval to the developers of a project called Broadway East San Antonio (BESA), across Broadway from the Pearl.
Renderings of BESA showed a dense 3.4-acre shopping mecca of luxury brands that would serve as a counterpart to the dining-centric development at the Pearl. That project appears to have stalled.
Elsewhere at Pearl, Oxbow expects to complete its Perlen House hotel at 1210 E. Elmira St. in early spring or summer 2027.
The HDRC is expected to review the Oxbow retail expansion project at its Oct. 7 meeting.
