San Antonio: 218-Unit Four-Story Apartment Complex in Government Hill Gets Final Approval
Feature Illustration: A concept rendering of the Residences at Grayson Heights. Courtesy: Davies Collaborative.
Posted: 4-22-2021
by Adolfo Pesquera
San Antonio (Bexar County) — A 281-unit multi-story apartment complex with parking garage that began its review process two years ago finally received final approval of designs and its Certificate of Appropriateness at a Wednesday city commission session.
The Residences at Grayson Heights, as the project is called, is a mixed use development located at 510 Spofford Street and 923 E. Carson Street. It occupies portions of two city blocks, fronts Quitman Street and encompasses 4.06 acres.
The component that came before the Historic and Design Review Commission on Wednesday was the last and largest part of the project. Other parts of the Grayson Heights development included a five-story office building at 1422 E. Grayson Street, a surface parking lot, a recently renovated retail space at 1518 E. Grayson.
The planned apartment complex/parking garage will also have a small retail presence at street level. In addition to the earlier construction, the apartment building start date was also held up because a historic structure that stood at 515 Pierce Street have to be relocated.
The apartment building/parking garage will occupy what were originally eleven lots. They include 516, 514 and 512 Pierce; 918 and 808 Quitman; 919, 913 and 925 E. Carson; 1913, 1914 and 1919 Rogers Avenue. In designing the site plan, the developer petitioned and the City Council approved the closure of Rogers Alley.
The developer, SA Quad Ventures LLC, was represented by land use attorney Ashley Farrimond. This project was first described in this April 2, 2019 VBX article.
On East Carson and Spofford, SA Quad Ventures proposed porch and yard elements that relate to those of single-family, historic structures found historically on the block. Additionally, SA Quad Ventures incorporated profiles and architectural details that are found on historic commercial structures on North New Braunfels Avenue into the design.
The HDRC approved the project with the following Development Services Department staff stipulations:
- All mechanical equipment shall be screened from view from the public right of way.
- All parking be screened, whether through landscaping elements or building materials, specifically as viewed from E Carson, to the fullest extent possible. Additionally, staff recommends that additional screening should be added to the parking garage on the north (Quitman) façade. Where vegetation is proposed as a screening element, a landscaping detail is to be submitted to staff for review and approval.
- Windows should be non-manufacturer’s white, be recessed within openings (approximately 2 inches), feature no faux divided lites, and feature equal sash sizes.
- The proposed thin brick feature corner pieces that feature a return as a traditional brick profile would feature.
Davies Collaborative of Austin is the architect. Norris Design of Austin is the landscape architect; Viewtech Inc. of Addison is the structural engineer; Nichols Engineering of Austin is the MEP; Design Environments Inc. of Marietta, Georgia is the interior designer.
Davies Collaborative filed a status report March 9 with the state’s Licensing & Regulation department, noting that the Residences at Grayson Heights would include a four-story building (Building 1), made of Type VA construction, R-2 occupancy and a six-story, Type IIA precast parking garage.
“Building 1 houses the leasing office, retail space, fitness, etc.,” Davies Collaborative added.
The total square footage is 277,252 SF, and the project was given an estimated cost of $38 million. The estimated construction start date is October 1, 2021, and it is to be completed by Sept. 1, 2023.
adolfo@virtualbx.com
