The Historic and Design Review Commission voted 5-2 in favor of allowing developers to proceed with plans for a 21-story, 252-room hotel on the River Walk. The project will essentially demolish and gut a majority of the blighted downtown city block on the southeast corner of Soledad and Houston streets.
The proposed AC Hotel by Marriott calls for demolition of the former Solo Serve building save for the River Walk-facing wall, and maintaining the facades of next-door structures collectively known as the Clegg Company Building along the 100 block of Soledad Street. The historic red-brick Book Building on East Houston Street that overlooks the San Antonio River will be “rehabilitated” to become the hotel’s main pedestrian entrance.
The hotel will include 12 levels of hotel rooms, eight levels of above-ground parking, and about 10,000 sq. ft. of street and river-level restaurant and retail space.
Representatives from Dallas-based Woodbine Development Corporation and San Antonio-based Overland Partners have told the commission that attempts to make the property profitable while maintaining the structures were studied. The structures, they concluded, could not support the necessary density to achieve profitability.
During Woodbine’s first presentation to the commission in April, developers and architects were told that the project would not be approved until a replacement plan was devised for the portion of the Solo Serve building that would be demolished. Developers said the space will be used as parking space until they find a better use for it.
(Read More: River Walk Hotel Developers Go Back to the Drawing Board)
According to the Express-News, HDRC Chairman Michael Guarino was especially concerned about the Clegg building and the Book Building:
“I hope that we understand the conceptual approval means the complete demolition of every building on the site except for the Book Building,” HDRC Chairman Michael Guarino said. “I just want us to think a little bit about that, because this is very, very extensive demolition.”
A floor will be added to the Book Building and existing floors in order to align, structurally, with the back of the Clegg building facing the River Walk.
The San Antonio Conservation Society sent a letter in opposition to the demolition:
“Using a historic building on a prominent street as the pedestrian entrance to a large project in the interior of the block has long been a way to highlight the historic architecture of a community while providing opportunities for major new construction,” stated Conservation Society President Sue Ann Pemberton. “In this case, by preserving only the exterior walls and the interior of the Book Building, the experience of being in a historic building, as part of a transition to the new structure, is lost.”
Click here to download the full letter.
*Featured/top image: The Solo Serve Building off of Soledad Street. Photo by Scott Ball.
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This area is awful and such an eyesore for our beautiful city. I think this is great!!!
About time
YES
I’m sure the Conservation Society means well, and their mission is critical to retaining the historic character of our downtown, but by opposing practical changes like those proposed for the book building, they undermine their credibility. It’s sort of akin to the boy crying wolf. Eventually their input is going to be dismissed by rolled eyes because their reputation is that everything is sacred, when of course that is not always the case.
I really wished this could have been a grocery store. Either way I am glad it is getting developed.
What?
I always feel safe downtown but this is the one street that really creeps me out. Vagrants and shady characters always seem to be roaming about. Glad to see that they are getting rid of such an unkempt area.
Good
Thank God. I was afraid the commission would declare Solo Serve has historical value.
Can the Solo Serve sign be purchased? lol
Great!!
I don’t see why it is necessary to destroy the interior of the Book Building. They can find a way restore the building as a part of their hotel plans. Saving only the facade is not saving much.
That’s awesome but don’t touch Mexican Manhattan!
Happy days
It was being used as a restroom glad it will be gone.
Good things are coming SA’s way!
if you happen to live or work in that area and are concerned about “vagrants and shady characters”, consider that perhaps it’s a poverty and homeless issue that will not be addressed by another tax-payer subsidized hotel.
It has been addressed by building Haven for Hope downtown. This is what attracts tons of vagrants and homeless. This place should have been built out in the country.
Michael Insall
I hope some recognition is given that this is the site of the old Veramendi Palace, which was once home to Ursula Veramendi, wife of James Bowie. It is also the ground covered in brutal house-to-house fighting during the Battle of Bexar in 1835.
Finally tear it down and don’t complain
Branden Dross
What bothers me is that the River walk will be in the dark and out of the sun with all those tall buildings at its banks.
How about some office space for the business’s we need to support our growing community? People need to make money to stay and eat downtown.
Solo Serve??? Now where am I supposed to buy my jeans.
Because one thing downtown doesn’t have enough of is hotels… Why oh why couldn’t this have been the site of an urban grocery store with garage parking and other uses such as offices and condos? Also, why is a park only thought of as a temporary measure?
Because phase two calls for a residential high rise so whatever is there will only be temporary.
My sentiments exactly. The solo serve would have been a great location for a grocery store with garage parking. Hotels don’t inherently drive tourism. But an urbanized core does.
Bout damn time! Knock that whole block down to the ground!!
Thank god it’s ugly and keeps that corner from it’s full potential
There are some old iron bar cells still in that building from its use as a jail
I’m happy that something will finally be done with that corner…but why did it have to be yet another hotel? ugghhh
Good! It is a huge EYESORE!!!
my main concern in all these new high rise projects is the loss of sunlight to the Riverwalk.
Need to be sure we don’t “gray out” the Riverwalk experience-don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg!
It is about time some homeless were hanging out in the old solo serve, it’s smelly and needs to removed!
The Solo Serve is on the site of where the Veramenda Palace was.. Will there be any archeaological digs?
Thank you Jesus !!!
A hotel is better than nothing but how many more do we need?
Okay but I remember with affection back in the 50s my Mom hauling me from south San Antonio where we lived off Nogalitos Street , to the downtown Solo Serve where we shopped the bargains. Especially in the basement!
1) The city does a good job of requiring sunlight studies to analyze the impact of these types of projects on the river
2) If it was profitable to make this a grocery/parking garage site, somebody would do it. The only way to meet a pro-forma on riverwalk property is to have restaurants/hotels. That is why you see them there. Grocery stores will come with more residents, but they won’t be on blocks that have river access.
3) San Antonio is finally getting much needed capital put back into the urban core. Most of these developers understand the need to preserve the historic parts of downtown, and feel that it is a benefit to their properties. However, we can’t dictate how they run their business by forcing them to allocate rentable space to existing interiors that are not functional. The façade should be plenty to keep the feel from the street.
I’m glad to see abandoned, ugly buildings replaced. But this hotel design is fugly. Agree with the group; just putting MORE hotels downtown really does not solve the problem.
How many hotel rooms are there in downtown SATX now?