Rackspace Technology told employees Friday morning that after 14 years in the “Castle,” a large structure in Windcrest known for its interior playground slide, the company will be moving to a smaller office space in North San Antonio.
Rackspace’s new home will be at RidgeWood Plaza II, an office space just north of Loop 1604 and near U.S. Highway 281. It is unclear when the move will occur, but an email to staff stated the company would be “re-imagining” its headquarters in 2023.
“With the changes in our global model and new ways of working,” wrote Casey Shilling, Rackspace’s chief marketing officer, in an email, “we are relocating this office and investing in the customer and Racker experience in a new, modern location to best serve our business needs in the future.”
Shilling said the new location was chosen based on where Rackspace employees, called “Rackers” in the company lingo, live. She said it would result in shorter commutes for most employees.
In addition to better fitting the current number of local employees — which have been whittled in recent years by layoffs and outsourcing — the cloud computing company’s move will also allow for potential expansions in the future, Shilling wrote.
The new office space will be between 75,000 and 90,000 square feet, and Rackspace is currently seeking a design firm to finalize renovation plans. Employee and “stakeholder” input will be a part of the process, Shilling said.
The “Castle,” Rackspace’s current headquarters, is around 1.2 million square feet. It was converted from the former Windsor Park Mall.
Rackspace also got a new CEO last month, after former CEO Kevin Jones stepped down in favor of Amar Maletira, the company’s then-chief financial officer. Maletira is the company’s fifth CEO since 2016.
This article has been updated to correctly reflect that Casey Shilling is female.
