The Lone Star Brewery development passed a major milestone on Wednesday.
The $709 million dollar project got the nod of approval from the San Antonio Workforce and Economic Development Committee.
The committee gave their unanimous approval for full city council consideration to turn the old 32 acres of brewery grounds into a mix of retail and living space. The brewery on Lone Star Boulevard near St. Mary's closed a quarter of a century ago.
It sits in the district of Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, who said it will take a decade to design, demolish and construct the project in three phases.
"They will conserve the parts that are historical and meaningful and then of course demolish those that are not able to salvaged and don't seem to have a new purpose," said Gonzales.
She said it is in the mold of the Pearl on Broadway, but has its own history to share.
"It's the same concept, but of course we want it to be very specific to Lone Star, but that's the concept, you know something that we're are very familiar with here in San Antonio, sort of adaptive reuse of these old historic buildings," Gonzales said.
The approval includes a grant not to exceed $24 million in tax increment financing and tax rebates for a term of 15 years. If the city council approves of the project plans, demolition work could begin before the end of the year.
Houston-based Midway, the privately-owned, fully-integrated real estate investment, development and management firm, has partnered with GrayStreet Partners, the San Antonio-based investment group specializing in urban commercial real estate, to transform the site to be called the Lone Star District.
Just 1.5 miles south of downtown, the Lone Star District is located within the city’s Southtown Arts District.
The site borders the San Antonio River, with more than a quarter of a mile of river frontage on the Mission Reach, and is adjacent to Roosevelt Park.
The first phase of Lone Star District includes a 12-acre, mixed-use project located directly south of Lone Star Boulevard. The first phase will feature a mix of residential, office, retail, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. Renovated historical buildings will remain alongside new construction.
The walkable environment will include Southwestern-style open-air plazas, pocket parks and outdoor programming. It will also provide greater connectivity for pedestrians and bikers to surrounding neighborhoods, according to a presentation to the committee.
The five Spanish colonial missions that make up Texas’ first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site are all located within 6 miles of Lone Star District,.
Midway and GrayStreet Partners have created a design team for the Lone Star District, including master plan architects Lake|Flato and OJB Landscape Architecture, as well as civil engineer WGI Engineers.
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