Five Historic San Antonio River Walk Buildings hit Market

A collection of vacant buildings along San Antonio’s River Walk is for sale, signaling potential redevelopment of a site steeped in Texas history.

Soledad House, a company affiliated with Austin-based AMS Commercial Real Estate, once envisioned a sweeping renovation for its RiverWalk holdings but is now seeking to offload them, the San Antonio Express News reported. The cluster of properties is being marketed by CBRE’s Andrew Price and Asher Reilly.

The five buildings, dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s, span 76,500 square feet at 130 Soledad Street. They include the Book Building, part of the Solo Serve Building, the Clegg, Veramendi and Kennedy buildings, along with courtyards stretching from the River Walk to Soledad Street.

An asking price hasn’t been disclosed, but the Bexar County Appraisal District values the properties at $14.4 million, or $188 per square foot.

Its “unbeatable location” is the main selling point, Price said. The area falls within an opportunity zone — a federal program offering tax incentives to spur development in economically distressed areas, he said.

The buildings have RiverWalk frontage and proximity to Main Plaza, UTSA’s downtown campuses and a planned stadium for the Double-A Missions baseball team.

The buildings are near developer Weston Urban’s holdings, including Frost Tower, the 300 Main residential high-rise and the historic Milam Building.

“We’ve had inquiries from developers across the country,” Price said. “Overall, we’ve had several hundred inquiries. Similar to other assets we are marketing downtown, outside capital seems very bullish on the San Antonio CBD.”

A buyer could transform it into mixed-use space with restaurants, bars and hospitality venues on the River Walk, Reilly said.

The site holds a rich cultural history. It was once home to the Veramendi Palace, where Jim Bowie married Ursula Veramendi, and where Texas revolutionary Ben Milam was shot dead during the Texas Revolution. Over the years, the site housed a printing business and the discount store Solo Serve.

— Andrew Terrell