San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
GrayStreet buys Villita Assembly Building
The circular Villita Assembly Building downtown — host to A Night in Old San Antonio, as well as proms, reunions, public meetings and other community events — caught the eye of multiple prospective buyers before local private equity firm GrayStreet Partners acquired it for $5.3 million.
The 24,785-square-foot building on 1.1 acres, sold by CPS Energy, is along the San Antonio River Walk, neighboring galleries and shops at La Villita and surrounded by proposed apartments, hotels and shops.
There are few opportunities to buy event venues in the city’s central business district as San Antonio is drawing more attention from investors, said Andrew Price, first vice president at CBRE, which represented CPS in the transaction.
“We believe this sale will breathe new life into a unique and well-established entertainment venue on the River Walk,” Price said. “The Villita Assembly Building was on the radar of many national players.”
GrayStreet Partners bought the building last month “after a competitive process,” Price said.
“I am excited the property was acquired by a local group with a vested interest in the future of San Antonio,” he said.
GrayStreet plans to “upgrade and restore” the building, which opened in 1959, and maintain it as an entertainment and event venue, said Kevin Covey, GrayStreet founder and general partner.
A Night in Old San Antonio will be held there this year, as the firm has an agreement with the Conservation Society of San Antonio, GrayStreet partner Paul Covey said. The signature Fiesta event is a major fundraiser for the group.
When a reporter asked about the firm’s plans and why it acquired the building, Covey said: “We are also wondering what our plans are and what made it an attractive acquisition. Let us know if you figure that out.”
Renowned architect O’Neil Ford designed the Villita Assembly Building to blend with the modest homes that occupy La Villita around it.
CPS commissioned the building as a pavilion for meetings and exhibitions sponsored by the utility, according to Express-News archives.
The utility owned a power
plant on the site, which was near its then-headquarters across the street. The Villita Assembly Building, with a circular suspension roof, was the first building of its kind in Texas.
Development in the neighborhood
The building is the last of seven properties that CPS put on the market in 2019 to help pay for its new $212 million headquarters on McCullough Avenue.
Just west of the assembly building, CPS’ drab former
headquarters at 145 and 146 Navarro St. is getting a makeover.
Blueprint Hospitality of Houston and Chicago plans to convert part of it into a 243room hotel called El Portal.
Los Angeles-based BH Properties is renovating the office space in the remaining portion and adding retail, including a restaurant overlooking the River Walk and outdoor pods for businesses.
The Tower Life Building is slated to be converted from offices into about 230 residential units and ground-floor retail, a project spearheaded by the McCombs family, local developer Ed Cross and Jon Wiegand of Alamo Capital Advisers.
Just east of the Villita Assembly Building, construction is underway on a 9-acre greenspace called Civic Park at Hemisfair.
Zachry Hospitality plans to build a mixed-use development bordering the park with housing, a 200-room hotel, retail and parking.
The firm is expected to finish it by 2025, in time for the
NCAA men’s basketball Final Four.
La Villita’s Maverick Plaza is also undergoing renovations, causing a tangle of construction in the area.
Merrillville, Ind.-based
White Lodging is renovating the 253-room former Marriott Plaza hotel at 555 S. Alamo St., and it is expected to reopen this summer as the Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa.
The company is building an adjacent 347-room hotel that is anticipated to open in late 2024.
Buildings at the property once occupied by the GermanEnglish school will be converted into a restaurant, a lobby bar and several hotel suites.