Mr. McGowen works with specific redevelopment tasks and looks at what will make the best direct impact. For example, he is working with the federal government and Fort Worth to build a new courthouse which will be a $300 million dollar project. It is worth spending a lot of money on big projects because it will bring new economic activity to that area. They are also looking at building on an old K-mart in the southwest part of San Antonio which would cost 150 million dollars.Mr. Garza is in specialized planning and geographic info. systems (GIS). He said that the military is a big part of the economy in San Antonio and has a big local impact. The west part of the city has had 30 years of good growth and in order to make other parts of the city grow as well, they give many incentives. Most developers like to build only hotels in the city because there are many tourists and can get their money back faster than if they build apartments or condos. The King William area was deteriorating, but small projects have turned around this part of town. It was done by many investors not one big one. Mr. Garza talked about the inner city reinvestment act which waves all city fees which equals out to about 3% of total project costs.
They all talked about how they frequently have area wide rezoning and struggle with diverse industries in the city. Population growth has been about 2% a year. Most of the money in San Antonio is in the North and West; it is like a mushroom. The southern part of the city has many occupants below the poverty line.
Betty Feldman & Laurence Doxsey
Mrs. Feldman is a graduate of University of Texas in Austin. She has worked in large cities across the country and is currently working for the city of San Antonio, TX as a city architect. She enjoys doing development projects. She discussed Fort Sam and the street car that will run from it two miles to downtown. One thing I did not previously know that was LEED started at the national level. She discussed the city and that they are not forcing people to obtain LEED certification, but they are held up to standards that would reach this. She also talked about everything green that is done on buildings and projects will pay for itself in 5 years of less. I enjoyed hearing the information about San Antonio's previous trash pickup downtown and how it was put on the streets up from the basement onto the street. I had never heard that before or thought of it.
We also heard Mr. Doxsey who is an employee in the Office of Environmental Management. He discussed sustainability in San Antonio and said the would probably be ranked 2 in Texas behind Austin in sustainability. It was obvious that Mr. Doxsey was all about going Green when he walked into the meeting with his bicycle helmet in hand. He talked about how the city is going to be purchasing many Hybrid sedans and that there are already many garbage trucks that are propane light trucks.Ray Herrera & Sylvia Cortez: Planning & Development Services Department
City building codes and permit requirements were discussed. Mrs. Cortez is the chief inspector for investigations. There are different boards to bring things into compliance. Mrs. Cortez talked about the consequences if you neglect to get a permit before you start something. If you try to do almost anything without a permit the cost of the permit will be doubled and in certain areas there will also be a $500 fee also. In San Antonio all contractors have to be state licensed. They do a lot to ensure the safety of the people. Different than other cities, in San Antonio you have to have a permit to put a roof on your house. Mr. Herrera is a historic investigator. His job is to keep the historic area in San Antonio preserved while keeping it in code as much as possible. The historic area doesn't allow any wind energy or anything could alter the appearance of the buildings. Both Mrs. Cortez and Mr. Herrera enforce the codes strictly in San Antonio for the safety of the people.The concrete mess located in the intersection of 35 and 281 in San Antonio, TX. It went bankrupt and has been repurchased by Ed Cross II (the owner of The Vistana).
This is an example of when a developer started a project without doing research. It didn't turn out right and didn't meet code compliance. Through litigation the property was lost by the original owner and sold to Mr. Cross the part-owner of the Vistana.Edward Cross, part-owner/developer of The Vistana
Mr. Cross is 54. He graduated from UT and got his CPA. In 1980, he began working for an architect company. In 1985, he began to work for a developer in San Antonio; through this he then started marketing office buildings. He moved SBC and Valero offices to San Antonio, TX. In 1994, he bought 26 different assets. When purchasing properties he looks at places with low CAPEX. The Vistana started out being a one story bank and an office building and built it up from there.
As you can see the Vistana is a place made up of first floor bank and office space, 4 floors above that are parking for 450 cars and also include mini storage units. The levels 6-14 include apartment space for rent. There are about 270 apartments with 240 different prices. They are currently 97% occupied. The only thing being under utilized is the storage spaces, but Mr. Cross said this will change with time as he gets more families rather than single men living there. The Vistana also has a workout facility and outdoor pool on the 6th floor which had a pretty sweet view of the city.
Mr. Cross spent 40% of his time on the first floor during the project. He still cared about the apartment spaces though, he wanted people to have an excellent first impression when they first opened the door. The apartments all have high ceilings and big windows and when you walk into them he wants people to think "wow" (what a view).
No comments:
Post a Comment