Feature Illustration: Artist rendering of the retail component of The Creamery mixed-use development at East Ashby Place and the San Antonio River. Source: GVI.
Posted: 9-1-2021
by Adolfo Pesquera
San Antonio (Bexar County) — The retail component of the mixed-use Borden Park development in Midtown is due to receive the go-ahead for its Certificate of Approval (COA) on final designs.
The Historic and Design Review Commission is scheduled to grant the COA today for the construction of three one-story retail structures north of the historic Borden Building at 875 E. Ashby Place. The structures will serve as a restaurant, a small retail space and an outdoor pavilion.
The COA application also includes landscaping the connects the retail to the rest of the development and to the San Antonio River Walk. The restaurant and retail buildings have foundation footprints of 2,100 square-feet and 2,500 square feet.
The retail component of the Borden Park project–which has since had a name change to The Creamery–is under a separate construction contract. That is why the HDRC is limiting its review to this section. The development of parking, for instance, is part of a future phase of work and will require its own Certificate of Appropriateness from the HDRC.
The materials proposed for the structures include stucco, metal siding, aluminum storefront and glass curtain wall systems. There will be some use of CMU and per city regulations it must be detailed in a manner that creates a texture or pattern consistent with development code standards.
The landscaping will include various planting areas, seating areas, sidewalks and other paving areas.
Embrey Partners Ltd. and AREA Real Estate LLC first introduced the 5.1-acre Borden Park (aka The Creamery) project more than two years ago, as reported in this VBX April 2, 2019 article. The $100 million project includes the redevelopment of the old Borden Dairy Company of Texas plant and an adjacent tract that was used as a commercial self storage business.
The Borden Building, a historic landmark, is being restored for use as an office building. Embrey Partners, a local firm that specializes in multifamily developments, is taking the lead on construction next to it of a five-story apartment building that will include about 350 residential units, a parking structure and two enclosed courtyards.
AREA Real Estate is the developer of the proposed retail, which is located at the juncture of the San Antonio River and U.S. Highway 281. Part of the project includes a pedestrian bridge the crosses connects a trail south of the river to the north; designs for the bridge were approved in November 2020.
The project team on the retail component includes Gomez Vazquez International (GVI) on architecture; Pape-Dawson Engineers Inc. on civil engineering; Rialto Studios on landscape architecture; Fire Protection Consulting Group Inc.
In 2019, Embrey Partners anticipated that The Creamery would reach full completion be Dec. 31, 2023. It’s unclear how much the pandemic delayed their timeline, but the construction now in progress was delayed.
adolfo@virtualbx.com
