“Preserving the architectural fabric of our historic downtown is baked into our DNA as a firm,” notes Jim Bailey, senior principal and active advocate for walkable streets. “Bringing more people to live downtown through multifamily adaptive reuse of legacy buildings is a win for preservation, and a bigger win for a livable downtown.”

Our work in adaptive reuse in San Antonio spans more than 40 years and includes venerable landmark buildings. We also see the value in preserving humbler buildings with strong second-life potential. In 2016, our longtime client, James Lifshutz, approached us to convert a large, abandoned 1970s-era warehouse in the Mission District into loft apartments. Since the mid-2010s, the area has experienced growth: it now offers trailhead access to the Mission Reach and is also home to the Mission Park UNESCO World Heritage Site, dedicated in 2015. Completed in 2018, South Side Living + Maker Spaces delivered 65 much-needed housing units to the district. While showcasing sustainability, the project also embraces uniqueness and the potential of this emerging cultural district.

The move of the Fairmount Hotel, the heaviest building ever moved on wheels according to the Guinness Book of World Records, attracted worldwide attention in 1984. The 1,600-ton, three-story masonry and cast-iron structure was rolled from its original home to a new site six blocks away, making room for the construction of The Shops at River Center.