In San Antonio, Tex., the former headquarters of CPS Energy, the city’s electric utility, is slated to transform into 100,000 square feet of office and retail space on San Antonio’s famed River Walk. BH Properties recently released its $10 million renovation plan for 146 Navarro.
Constructed in 1987, 146 Navarro has not been updated in decades. With the renovation project, each of the building’s three 28,000-square-foot cantilevered floors of office space will undergo a complete transformation to meet the modern needs of multiple tenants. The design, created by Gensler, takes advantage of the nine-foot floor heights, 1,500-square-foot wraparound patios, and floor-to-ceiling windows offering unobstructed views of the River Walk and downtown San Antonio.
Each of the three office levels will have large, open floorplates with private, stepped-back terraces overlooking the river. The office component will sit on top of the once-private seven-story garage, which will be opened to the public to provide more than 600 parking spaces.
BH Properties will introduce about 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, including a two-story restaurant with views of the river. In addition to the restaurant and bar, the ground floor will be further activated with covered terraces connecting to the River Walk. An enhanced lobby will feature an extruded glass box and metal panels. And BH will create several individual 750- to 1,500-square-foot retail pods on a new pocket park plaza.
The design also will include spaces for murals. Concepts will be sourced through a public art competition organized with Centro San Antonio, a placemaking organization focused on downtown San Antonio.
Building Team:
Owner and developer: BH Properties
Design architect: Gensler
MEP engineer: Alderson & Associates, Inc.
Structural engineer: Architectural Engineers Collaborative
Landscaping: MP Studio
General contractor/construction manager: Skanska
Related Stories
| Nov 2, 2010
11 Tips for Breathing New Life into Old Office Spaces
A slowdown in new construction has firms focusing on office reconstruction and interior renovations. Three experts from Hixson Architecture Engineering Interiors offer 11 tips for office renovation success. Tip #1: Check the landscaping.
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 13, 2010
County building aims for the sun, shade
The 187,032-sf East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., will be oriented to take advantage of daylighting, with exterior sunshades preventing unwanted heat gain and glare. The building is targeting LEED Silver. Strong horizontal massing helps both buildings better match their low-rise and residential neighbors.
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Oct 12, 2010
Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.
| Oct 12, 2010
From ‘Plain Box’ to Community Asset
The Mid-Ohio Foodbank helps provide 55,000 meals a day to the hungry. Who would guess that it was once a nondescript mattress factory?
| Oct 11, 2010
HGA wins 25-Year Award from AIA Minnesota
HGA Architects and Engineers won a 25-Year Award from AIA Minnesota for the Willow Lake Laboratory.