Brooks housing growth accelerates with Dallas firm’s 450-unit redevelopment of officers quarters
Old rental apartments in Brooks, a former air force base on the South Side, are being replaced.
The 163-unit Heritage Oaks Congregation, which was built in 1962 as officers’ quarters at the base, will be razed to the ground to make room for around 450 single-family and semi-detached houses.
The project includes a clubhouse and pool, dog and amusement parks, and walking paths.
Preston Hollow Capital, a Dallas-based financial firm, leases the land from the Brooks Development Authority. The investment is expected to be around $ 85 million, said Ramiro Albarran, co-head of origination at Preston Hollow.
Preston Hollow has invested in projects at Brooks since 2015, funding real estate and infrastructure developments on the roughly 1,308-acre campus, Albarran said.
Brooks was recommended for closure by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005 and decommissioned in 2011. Since then, it has become a mix of businesses, homes, shops, restaurants, and hotels.
WILLIAM LUTHER / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS
A Preston Hollow representative did not respond to a request about the latest project, including projected rents and whether Heritage Oaks tenants will be given the option to rent the new units first.
The project comes in the midst of an expansion of Brooks housing options.
Terramark Urban Homes, based in San Antonio, announced last winter that it would build the first apartments for sale on campus.
The company bought nearly 5 acres from the Brooks Development Authority for $ 1.8 million and will build 60 single-family homes starting at $ 270,000. Terramark borrowed $ 1.5 million for the purchase from the organization, which is overseen by an 11-person board appointed by the mayor and city council.
Brooks was recommended for closure by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005 and decommissioned in 2011. Since then, it has turned into a mix of businesses, homes, shops, restaurants, and hotels.
There are now more than 40 companies at Brooks and more than 3,200 people work on the campus, which comprises 1,337 residential units.
The Japanese manufacturer Nissei Plastic Machinery America Inc., the food packaging company Cuisine Solutions and the service company Okin Process have set up shop there.
A business draw: the Brooks property is exempt from property tax.
The former base is also a tax hike reinvestment zone that reimburses developers for infrastructure improvements from property tax revenue, and it is known as the “opportunity zone”.
The zones, established by then-President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax reform, offer tax breaks on capital gains to investors who invest capital in long-term investments in designated areas.
The program is designed to generate investment in underserved neighborhoods, but has been criticized for benefiting wealthy investors rather than residents. Research has also shown mixed economic conditions in the designated areas, suggesting Brooks and other local areas were already seeing investment.
Brooks received the first project from Texas under the program in 2019: a self-storage facility with flexspace built by DPR Investments. Amazon, which wants to open a delivery station on campus, also uses the term.
Apartments on Theaterplatz
Work on an apartment complex that will replace a closed theater is slated to begin early next year.
Regal Fiesta Stadium 16 at 12631 Vance Jackson Road is permanently closed.
Madison Iszler / San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio-based Koontz Corp. is building a 300 unit complex on approximately 10.4 acres at 12631 Vance Jackson Road. The Regal Fiesta Stadium 16 cinema there is permanently closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
The developer recently bought the property from Houston-based Weingarten Realty and had the property rededicated for the apartments.
The complex will include one and two bedroom units, two swimming pools and a dog park and is expected to be completed in 2024.
“We are excited to provide a premier apartment building complex in this vibrant San Antonio neighborhood,” said Bart Koontz, President and CEO of Koontz Corp. “Its filling location with many food, retail and restaurant options nearby makes it an ideal place.”
Koontz develops apartments as well as office, retail and industrial buildings.
Bart Koontz and BJ “Red” McCombs founded the company in 1997, which was then known as Koontz McCombs Ltd. was known and added a construction company in 2000.
Koontz bought McCombs’ shares in 2015 and became Koontz Corp. renamed. The next year he sold Koontz Construction’s commercial division to Joeris General Contractors.
madison.iszler@express-news.net
[ad_1]
