Nuveen Snaps up Industrial Facility in San Antonio

Nuveen Real Estate is scooping up Phase I of Koontz’s Westport Industrial Park on San Antonio’s far West Side.

The Class A industrial building exchanged hands on May 27, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. The development is currently 79 percent leased, and while the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the Bexar Central Appraisal District values the buildings at almost $17 million, but the sale price was likely much higher.

Westport Industrial Park Phase I encompasses two 93,600-square-foot industrial buildings spanning 17 acres. Koontz will retain its ownership of Phase II, an adjacent site set to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027, according to the outlet. Chicago-based Nuveen is the investment arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.

According to Koontz marketing materials, the total project will span four buildings at the center of residential expansion west of San Antonio. The location has direct access to Hwy 151 and sits at 438 South Callagahan Road.

The tenants at Phase I include Texas Wilson, Farsound Aviation, Primo Brands and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. CEO Bart Koontz told the outlet that the company dangled the property in front of prospective buyers with the sweetener that they’d get to add their own flavor to the leasing list.

The purchase is the second Nuveen industrial development catch in the past few weeks, but the first will need a makeover. The company bought the 19-acre Sky Harbor Innovation Park in Tempe, Arizona, and plans to pivot the location from offices to industrial developments.

Industrial demand in the San Antonio area is holding steady off a sharp increase in the 2020s, even if some of the new owners are controversial with local authorities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has been rapidly expanding their presence in the area, highlighted by purchasing a massive warehouse to function as a detention center.

— Hunter Cooke