SAN ANTONIO – (Realty News Report) – BH Properties has acquired the vacant Navarro Building on the Riverwalk in San Antonio from public utility CPS Energy.
Navarro Building and garage along the Riverwalk features 100,000 SF of office space atop one of the city’s largest parking structures with 605 stalls.
Located at 146 Navarro Street, the building was originally constructed in 1968 as a seven story-parking structure for Hemisphere ’68, the official World’s Fair held in San Antonio. Three stories of office space were added above the garage in 1987 to accommodate the growth of CPS Energy, which currently serves more than 1.2 million customers in the greater San Antonio area. The public utility vacated the property in 2020 after consolidating its operations into a new building in downtown San Antonio.
Gene Williams with CBRE’s Global Advisory and Transactional Services team, Jared Chua and Jennifer Joseph with CBRE’s Institutional Properties team, and Peter Jansen with CBRE’s Public Institutions and Education Solutions team marketed the property on behalf of the seller.
Each of the building’s three cantilevered floors of office space features large 28,000-SF floor plates with large wraparound patios, nine-foot floor heights, and floor-to-ceiling windows offering unobstructed views of Downtown San Antonio. The property also includes 14,500-SF of street level and 2nd floor office and retail space. With an abundance of parking, the Navarro Building offers a market best parking ratio of 6.00:1,000 SF.
This is the second recent investment in San Antonio for Los Angeles-based BH Properties, which owns more than 3.5 million SF of office, industrial and retail space throughout Texas. Its first purchase was a ground lease position for the 300,000-sf Highpoint Towers in San Antonio’s Medical Center District.
BH Properties, which is based in Los Angeles, plans a significant capital improvement program to completely transform the office component into institutional quality Class A office space designed either for multi- or single-tenant use. Planned improvements include refurbishing of balconies, redesign of public spaces including lobbies and restrooms, new lighting throughout, as well as a number of other upgrades. BH also plans to modernize the parking systems in the garage with new access controls and EV charging stations.
“Having been built for and occupied only by CPS, this is truly a one-of-a kind asset that has never been offered to the leasing market before,” said Scott Henry, Managing Director, Acquisitions and head of the Dallas office for the Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm. “Our improvements combined with the incredible office views, the abundance of parking, and its Riverwalk location, will make the Navarro building competitive with newer product in the downtown area.”
CPS has been the subject of environmental controversy related to its coal-fired Spruce power plant at Calaveras Lake on the southeast side of town.
Founded 30 years ago by real estate entrepreneur Steve Gozini, BH Properties has offices in Phoenix and Dallas. It focuses on value-add transactions, distressed debt, and ground leases. Today the company owns and operates nearly 10 million SF across 19 states.
Feb. 14, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: San Antonio Riverwalk Building