(Day 1)
(Day 1)
Friedrich Lofts (Day 2)
Freidrich Lofts (Day 2)
Alamo Architects (Day 2)
Marty Wender's Office (Day 2)
San Antonio River Authority Tour (Day 2)1221 Broadway, failed project started by George Geis
Driving into the San Antonio CBD, there is a handful of concrete frame buildings sitting unfinished on the corner of Broadway,IH-35 & Hwy 37. An overambitious builder took it upon himself to act in his deceased architect's interest, and stamped the the project to start. Going into construction post 2002, the general contractor Andres Construction Co from Dallas recognized a $750,000 cost that would have to be accounted for due to faulty architectural plans. The project was in multiple lawsuits over past few years, and ironically Ed Cross, the gentleman we hear about earlier in the day at the City meeting took over. We are also meeting him at his newest project in downtown, The Vistana. He is slating to start construction in the next few weeks and can hopefully turn the project into something income producing.
Downtwon San Antonio has never seen anything like this before. Quite frankly, anything new in San Antonio seems to be a hit, but this one is different. Directly across from the Christus hospital system in the CBD, Mr. Cross has developed a massive 247 unit MF project to cater to the fresh young population that has been waiting for something like it. The project covers a whole city block, and has 530,000sf. Property was originally slated as a parking garage, as Ed thought that would be highest and best use. As we all saw, at 96% leased, there is no doubt that this practical project kept all of it's tenants in mind to serve them the best way possible in downtown San Antonio.
The loft style apartments give a "wow" feel as you walk in, and according to Ed, that is exactly what he wants his tenants to feel. With granite counter tops, high end finishes, and great storage, the units are an ideal size range to fit the needs of a wide variety of people. The 3 story Tower Suite rents for $7k/month, and is the most distinct part of the project from the exterior view.
The retail space is actually slow to pick up, and given macroeconomic conditions, there is nothing slated to come in as of right now. The rooftop pool, grassy area, common area meeting room, and extensive storage all make this project the ideal place to live close to work and play. With a low fixed rate debt structure from a life company, Ed has been able to whether the storm, not to mention his partner is a local Billionaire!
Freidrich Lofts (Old A/C Plant), Patrick Sherear, Broker/Principal at Cambridge Realty
Talk about adaptive re-use. This massive warehouse/plant was built in the 20's, and sits west of downtown across the highway. The project was entered into about 10 years ago, and had initial financing troubles due to it's nature and the vision of re-use in those years not being forward thinking. The property falls into a TIF district, Empowerment Zone, and has received new market & historic tax credits, overall, still a small portion of the capital stack. Remediation has been done for parts of the building, and a majority of it is still vacant. Only 20,000sf has been leased to small businesses (approx. $15psf), and with the $ incentive of employing more people to obtain Empowerment Zone money, they are aggressively trying to lease office space. The acquisition basis in the project was tremendously low, and is seemingly the only reason the current owners are surviving the stage of the project. Overall the vision is there, and the sub market will slowly catch up to it to eventually give a premium on the subject.
Alamo Architects (headquarters)
The drive up appeal to this property is quite interesting in that it is a historically light industrial area, now seemingly dilapidated except for this single property. We had the honor to meet with one of the principals of the firm, along with one of his staff architects, and obtain a tour of the how they achieved LEED Silver status.
Reuse was a big point accumulation area, in that concrete slabs used during redevelopment were from the excavation of the original property. Also, the ceilings were removed, and many of the wall partitions were torn down, giving the office an open air look now, with continuity. The rainwater collection system from the roof is a very distinctive feature, in that it collects the water, stores it in a tank, and reuses it as needed. This system is integrated with one other that collects water condensation from the A/C unit, and stores up to 70 gallons on any given good day (150 ton unit).
Relative to their prior office space, this new building is larger, but consumes 20% less energy/utilities. All in all, it seems as if the LEED Silver has gotten them ahead of the curve.
Marty Wender, CEO Charles Marin Wender Real Estate
Can we get a more vibrant and successful land developer/assembler than this? Mr. Wender has been doing what he has been doing for 30+ years, clearly a seasoned pro in the San Antonio, if not the primary go to guy for any large scaled development in the city. In his Master Planning tenure, he has sourced land for projects for companies like Sea World, Hyatt, NSA, Microsoft, and many more. Marty was so kind to provide lunch at his office for our crew.
Marty gained a lot of notoriety for his ability to deliver, and as one company would bring their firm to San Antonio through him, he started to see the domino effect start to occur as San Antonio started becoming a westward bound booming population. As the land developer, he is required to build the infrastructure and works needed to connect his tracts of sold land to utilities, access points, and everything in between the road and power lines.
As a positive personality by nature, he promotes getting through adversity and touch problem solving situations by being on the offensive for the answer, instead of folding in. His wisdom stems from college days when he took a logic course, one he recommends to all.
To Mr. Wender, in a world of givers and takers, you've always got to find a way to give more back to sustain your presence in the community. As a salesperson by trade, his approach to pitching aggressively and catering to client's needs immediately without quitting is the cornerstone of his success. The story of when he insisted on loading up Ross Perot Jr.'s Gulfstream with San Antonio's famous Rudy's BBQ, right after they had a meeting with the Hillwood team regarding a deal he needed closed was just the prime example of catering to clients' needs. Mr. Wender doesnt know if this action led them to land in Dallas, and immediately call him to approve the deal, but was sure it had some weight.
Specific to San Antonio, Mr. Wender touched on the areas that can and cannot be developed from a simple feasibility measure. The "recharge zone" is an area that does not allow proper drainage and access, making it the most prime land to the northern side of the city that couldn't be utilized.
As he mentioned on and on again, "time is the enemy of any deal, it can make or break you." This wisdom is long regarded as one of the most repeated by real estate moguls alike around the world. In what has become a product of his own doing, Marty's biggest project to date is the MP Community of Westover Hills. Over the years he has gotten growth in the area with the relocation of USAA's 18k employees, Microsoft's facility, and the UTSA Main Campus (approx. 26,000 students), all contributing to ancillary development in the surround area.
Mr. Wender gave us great wisdom, and told everyone to follow a mentor that really stands out to you, and when you do make it in the real estate world, don't forget to give back to the future generations like he did while speaking to us for a whole afternoon.
To wrap up our trip in SA, we stopped off at the Pearl Brewery to meet with a gentleman from the San Antonio River Authority. This portion of the San Antonio River is a newer portion that has been developed by releasing vagrant inhabitants and expanding the landscaping/amenities. The 1.3 miles stretch we walked encompassed calm views and less hustle and bustle like the Riverwalk drag in the CBD. Locals can enjoy access to a quiet part of the walk without running into a plethora of tourists at all times. Great vision, and great extension of it.
This essentially wraps up the San Antonio portion of our trip, now back home to the Big D!
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