Renovations in the common areas inside the Century Building are nearing completion only six months after Houston-based Braun Enterprises purchased the building and 10 acres of land on which it sits.
But the bigger transformations for the property near the U.S. Highway 281 and Northeast Loop 410 interchange are still to come.
Zach Wolf, director of leasing for Braun, told the Rivard Report in July the company planned to add a parking deck in the northwest corner of the property, which is just down the frontage road to the east from North Star Mall. Plans for the parking deck are moving ahead in 2019, Wolf said. It will feature 1,018 parking spaces.
Plans for new retail space just off the frontage road in front of the Century Building, located at 84 NE Loop 410, also are in the works, and Braun plans to call the area “Century Heights.” But the new retail space won’t come online until August 2020.
Wolf said in order to satisfy parking needs for the Century building, the parking deck will be completed first and then the retail will follow. Both projects eat into a large existing parking lot.
“The office tenants need to be able to park while we build the parking structure and they wouldn’t be able to if the retail is being built at the same time,” Wolf said in an email.
Braun recently released renderings that indicate it is pursuing restaurants and a gym for the space, among other offerings. A document on Braun’s website indicates the three retail buildings will be 10,350, 9,655, and 8,313 square feet.
One of the renderings features a Pluckers restaurant, which would be the third in San Antonio if Braun and the well-known Austin-based eatery can reach a lease agreement. Wolf said Braun has not reached agreements with any possible tenants for the retail space.
He did not respond to questions about how leasing was progressing inside the Century Building.
Braun purchased the building and the land in the summer for an undisclosed price. Bexar County Appraisal District records show its appraised value was just under $12 million this year.
Wolf said in July that Braun would be renovating common areas inside the four-story, 187,000-square-foot building and building out approximately 25,000 square feet of office space to serve small and midsize tenants. Wolf said interest in both the office space and the planned retail space has been strong.
The Century Building was built in 1971, featuring a triangular shape and glass exterior. It once was considered cutting-edge architecture in North San Antonio.
The Century Building project is the only one in which Braun is currently involved in San Antonio, but that could change in 2019.
“We are actively searching and negotiating several deals,” Wolf said. “Hopefully 2019 will lead to many more acquisitions in San Antonio.”
I hope they plan well enough to include Charging Stations for the growing number of Electric Cars in the area. Any retail business adding additional parking now and in the future should be planning for their E.V. driving customers.