Feature Photo: East Travis Street, looking west. Next to the Travis Street bridge over the San Antonio River exist two 1940s buildings that were acquired by Weston Urban. Image: Google Streets.
Posted: 2-2-2021
by Adolfo Pesquera
San Antonio (Bexar County) — Weston Urban has not yet decided on a final concept for the historic Milam Building project, however, the recent acquisition of two lots ensure it will have a River Walk component.
According to various media reports, the downtown developer acquired the building at 123 and 127 East Travis Street. The two one-story buildings share a common wall and occupy the distance between the Milam and the San Antonio River Walk.
The building at 123 E. Travis, built in 1940, was formerly the Navy Club, a private club that served liquor by the drink during an era when that was generally against Texas liquor laws; 127 E. Travis was the law office of state judge Solomon Casseb Jr., now deceased.
The properties were acquired in January from two different owners. Combined, the two lots have a footprint of 7,385 square feet.
Weston Urban acquired the historic Milam Building in 2016. Constructed in 1927-1928, the 21-story Milam lived most of its life as an office building and had a diner and post office on the ground floor. However, the original architecture does not lend itself to office use and Weston Urban has decided to find a different use for it.
This most recent acquisition gives the developer the flexibility to incorporate River Walk access into its plans.
“It’ll enable us to incorporate the San Antonio River into that redevelopment in a really special way,” president Randy Smith told the Express-News. “I don’t know what that looks like yet.”
The Milam stands in a pocket of downtown that will soon see major new construction to either side of it. Just across the San Antonio River to the east, Harris Bay LLC is in the process of constructing an eight-story boutique hotel, the Artista Hotel at 151 E. Travis St.
Immediately to the west, Weston Urban obtained conceptual design approval in December for 305 Soledad, a 32-story residential tower/parking garage that the developer proposes will have 351 luxury units and street level retail.
adolfo@virtualbx.com
