Development needs, more than anythingelse, capital. In this current economicenvironment, capital can be hard tocome by.
Thankfully for San Antonio thereare visionaries spending hundredsof millions of dollars on projects thatcould help revitalize one of the city’smost important thoroughfares, Broadway Street.On one end is the Pearl Brewery. The site dates back tothe 19th century. It is currently being redeveloped by SilverVentures into an urban, mixed use mecca featuring dining,events, shops and lofts.
About two miles to the north, a mere 25 blocks away(depending on which side of the street you’re walking) is anew urban outpost. The Broadway San Antonio condominiumsstretch to the heavens at the landmark location of Broadwayand Hildebrand Avenue. This new development is slated forcompletion in Spring 2010, when it becomes the most exclusiveaddress in San Antonio.
Lying between both sites are an eclectic mix of specialtyretail, fast food restaurants, cultural attractions, vacantproperties and almost anything else you can imagine. Cityleaders are optimistic that the commitment by Silver Venturesand Broadway developer Koontz McCombs, coupled with theinvestment in adjacent Fort Sam Houston, will reenergize oneof the most vital parts of our city.
“The redevelopment of the Pearl Brewery and theconstruction of The Broadway San Antonio are catalysts,” saidMario Hernandez, president of the Economic DevelopmentFoundation for San Antonio. “Typically, for revitalization of anarea to occur, you need to have some major anchors. These canbe the anchors that will become growth generators for futuredevelopment in that area.”
“It’s probably not happening as fast as a lot of peoplewould like it to happen,” said Mike Reddell of The Broadwaydevelopment.
Reddell, the founder of Ironwood Marketing Group, isresponsible for marketing the 92 units in the 20–story Broadway.“But the enormous investment, both on our project and on thePearl Brewery is happening now,” he said.
“The immediate impact that has is that it makes it moreenticing for other developers to invest in some of their nearbyproperties as well,” said Reddell. “The bulk of the currentinvestment is being carried by Bart Koontz and Red McCombsfor the Broadway, and Kit Goldsbury at the Pearl Brewery.”
The Brewery, Reddell said, is being done in a very forwardthinkingmethodic fashion. Silver Investments bought theproperty in 2002 and has slowly been restoring the 22–acre siteto its former glory, which dates back as far as 1863 when it wasCity Brewing. Today there are lofts, restaurants, offices and aspecial events center inside the stables that were once home tothe horses that pulled the beer wagon.
Real estate people have often joked that anyone with a line ofcredit and a piece of property can call themselves developers.However, calling yourself a developer and actually developingsomething are two very different things. Right now developers,Koontz McCombs and Silver Ventures, are doing the work alongBroadway. Any other activity between those two projects is thework of speculators or land bankers
Properties up and down that 25–blockstretch of Broadway are going under contractin anticipation of what might come once theeconomy turns around. Real estate is risky, soinvestors will sometimes go to great lengths tomitigate that risk. Much of the activity includes“banking” a property and waiting for the marketto turn around before doing anything with it.
The visible progress at the Pearl Brewerylocation has prompted the redevelopment ofa small strip center along the road leading intothe complex. At Hildebrand and Broadway anold gas station has been scraped and replacedwith a new banking center just across the streetfrom the 20–story condo project.
“The moment that The Broadway opens, itwill forever transform this intersection,” Reddellsaid. “Most people don’t yet understand whatthis location is going to look like. Right nowthere’s a wall that hides a lot of the street–levelconstruction, when it’s finished, it’s going to beremarkably different. There will be a beautifullylandscaped urban park surrounding the edgeof the building. However, the most importantelement of that intersection is the influentialpeople who will be living there.”
“It’s a well–established business corridor andit represents a very high–end residential area aswell,” Hernandez said. “Toward the north you’vegot some of the highest per capita householdsin the area. In addition, to the south, it’s athoroughfare that represents the flow of a lot ofcommerce.”
Adding to the synergy created by Broadway’sbookends are plans for the development atFort Sam Houston. The century–old militarybase is getting billions in funding thanks toBase Realignment and Closure Committeerecommendations. The base butts up toBroadway Street between the two propertiesand it is expected to add fuel to the fire.
“This intersection gets more play than anyother intersection nearby,” Reddell said. “It’sthe gateway from Alamo Heights into thecity of San Antonio. You’ve got the countryclub down the block and the University ofthe Incarnate Word and AT&T right across thestreet. This is a Main and Main intersection. Ifwe built this anywhere else, it simply wouldnot have the same impact.”
