San Antonio multifamily works out to strengthen its urban core

​​​​SAN ANTONIO – Multifamily development in San Antonio had
quite a year in 2015, but instead of focusing on the number of units delivered,
it is where they showed up that counts.

Last year, 16 new apartment communities with more than 50
units were completed, adding nearly 4,330 units to the city’s multifamily
supply, according to RENTCafe.

And while 2014 was by far a more active year—when 5,704
apartments were added to the city’s rental inventory—the national rental site
said that 2015 was all about making the city’s vibrant urban core even better.

Over the past few years, development around the outer loop
has strengthened suburban multifamily markets such as Stone Oak, Shavano Park
and Northwest San Antonio.

But 2015 appears to have been the year when that development
focus began to shift inward.

"San Antonio’s urban core is just getting better with
the years," the RENTCafe report​ stated. "The Alamo City has seen
quite a transformation recently, with major residential developments joining
Class A office towers, cultural landmarks and reinvented urban parks in taking the
city to a whole new level."

That urban park is none other than Hemisfair, which will
soon deliver multifamily units of its own as it prepares to break ground on its
first public-private partnership agreement with local AREA Real Estate. The
development is planned for the 1.1-acre site in the southwest quadrant of the
downtown park and will include 163 units and a 418-space parking garage.

Other developments indicative of San Antonio’s
push toward urban revitalization is the completion of Argyle Residential’s
302-unit Rivera at 1130 Broadway, Pearl’s 123-unit luxury multifamily tower
Cellars at Pearl and Dallas-based JMJ Development’s plans for a 30-story
high-rise apartment tower along the River Walk.