Downtown Development
Iconic new skyscraper will transform the San Antonio skyline
A 400,000-square-foot office building anchored by the headquarters of Frost Bank will be constructed in downtown San Antonio. It's the first new downtown office tower since 1989. The project is part of a multi-layered deal involving developer Weston Urban, Frost Bank and the City of San Antonio.
Weston Urban will develop a new building catty-corner to the existing Frost Bank building, 100 W. Houston Street. Frost will occupy 250,000 square feet in the new tower. The height of the tower has not been determined, but it is expected to be about 25 stories tall.
The City of San Antonio will buy the existing Frost building for municipal use.
In another leg of the deal, Weston Urban will purchase several smaller downtown buildings from the city with the commitment to develop 265 residential units.
"As mayor, I couldn't be more thrilled about this Public Private Partnership with Weston Urban and Frost," Mayor Ivy Taylor said. "In addition to providing valuable downtown housing, it will enable the City to consolidate operations into City-owned buildings downtown. The economic impact is huge — in addition to the new tower and housing, it will provide much needed retail opportunities along our two major retail corridors, West Commerce and Houston streets."
"Frost has been an integral part of downtown San Antonio since our company first opened its doors on Main Plaza nearly 150 years ago," said Dick Evans, Frost chairman and CEO. "As a long-time supporter of downtown initiatives, Frost is committed to the continued growth of San Antonio's urban core. We are very pleased to see this project moving forward, as it will allow us to maintain our corporate headquarters downtown in an iconic new skyscraper, where we will be the named tenant."
Weston Urban is a San Antonio-based real estate company founded in 2012 by Graham Weston and Randy Smith to focus on development in downtown San Antonio.
Downtown San Antonio also attracted the attention of veteran Houston developer Fred Griffin of Griffin Partners. In the Alamo City’s first $100 million real estate transaction, a joint venture of Griffin Partners and Clarion Partners purchased Bank of America Plaza, a 28-story building in downtown San Antonio in 2014. The Bank of America tower, built in 1983, is the largest building in downtown San Antonio.