By Edmond Ortiz
The re-transformation of the former Windsor Park Mall and Rackspace Technology campus continues, as Windcrest fights economic headwinds and grow its business community.
A unique makeover
Construction crews recently finished an initial phase of demolition and improvements in and around the 685,000-square-foot complex that first hosted Windsor Park Mall, which initially offered more than 1 million square feet of retail space, including major department stores such as Dillard’s and Mervyn’s, and a movie theater.
Following the mall’s decline and subsequent closure in the mid-2000s, then-rising local cloud computing firm Rackspace acquired the sprawling structure and called it home for several years. In between those periods, part of the mall became a temporary sanctuary for people fleeing the terrors of major Gulf Coast hurricanes in summer 2005.
Now, Windcrest officials are putting their stamp on the former mall/corporate headquarters. They envision a variety of companies coming – sooner than later – to the Windcrest International Business Park and utilize its flexible spaces, utilities, operational cost benefits, and strategic location for everything from warehousing and light manufacturing to office operations.
It is among the key ;local business developments that Windcrest officials believe will help to further boost the town’s economy.
“Incentives, costs, parking, utilities – the whole mix makes it different,” said Mario Hernandez, executive director of the Windcrest Economic Development Corp. “That’s what we hope is a big advantage in this marketplace.”
Located near Interstate 35 and Loop 410, the Windcrest International Business Park is being promoted as an affordable, versatile, mixed-use space, which is competing with established industrial parks that sit along the I-35 corridor from Schertz to San Antonio’s East Side.
Cleveland-based company Industrial Commercial Properties acquired the former mall/corporate campus in 2024 for a reported $21 million. ICP was projected to commit $40 million to $50 million to redevelop the structure.
According to local officials, the business park may accommodate an assortment of tenants that could collectively produce more than $279 million in sales/output annually, create 1,200-plus jobs, and generate a total yearly payroll averaging north of $55 million.
What lies inside and outside
Hernandez points to a range of selling points that Windcrest and its project partners see as alluring to potential tenants:
- 3,500-plus surface and underground parking spaces
- 30 to 32 vertical feet of clearance height
- 66 acres of land
- 15 megawatts of utility power
- Multiple floor plans
- Build-to-suit capabilities of second-floor office and warehouse space
- Property tax abatement through 2030
- Possible savings of 50%-70% on operating costs per square feet over the next five years
Rackspace’s decision to relocate its corporate office to Far North San Antonio disappointed Windcrest leaders, but the fact that the company functioned in the former Windsor Park Mall for nearly 20 years proved that converting the mall into a commercial/industrial complex – and not merely demolishing it – was a worthwhile endeavor for the town.
Rackspace officials cited the growth of remote work and inflation, especially following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns, as one of the reasons for the firm’s departure.
“(Rackspace’s) model changed. They had a need for 3,000 people here. Now, 3,000 people can work anywhere,” Hernandez said.
Currently, there still are vestiges of Rackspace’s occupation of the former mall, which was dubbed “The Castle” in those days. Prospective tenants touring the business park can find conference rooms, artistic interior flourishes, a decades-old Windcrest zoning map, and what was then the world’s largest wall-mounted word search, a 19-foot by 18-foot puzzle displaying 3,999 words and phrases along an escalator wall.
Workstation connections, enclosed offices and conference rooms fill the former local corporate space of tech company TaskUs, which was housed inside the former mall. The regional TaskUS workforce relocated to New Braunfels.
Contractors are white-boxing a space between the old Dillard’s and Montgomery Ward stores, and opening up the bay area in order to appeal to manufacturing and industrial enterprises. ICP is being selective with demolition of old physical infrastructure.
“For the most part, there’s been some {demolition) here, but if somebody comes in and says, ‘I want this space as is,” then great. If somebody says I want this space and it’s going to be a warehouse, we’ll get to demo everything out,” Hernandez said. “It’s going to be on a case-by-case market because it doesn’t make sense to get rid of most or all the stuff in here.”
Misty Baker, ICP’s senior project manager who is overseeing demolition and renovations at the business park, said contractors are in a sense “beefing up” the existing infrastructure to entice a diversity of tenants who will want to operate out of Windcrest.
“We’re doing the heavy lifting to bring the right kind of folks here,” she added.
A larger perspective
Hernandez said he looks forward to when future tenants fill up the business park and breathe new life throughout the former mall. He counted five active prospects as of July 1.
The ventures that do end up occupying the Windcrest International Business Park will join a community that has undergone economic ups and downs over the last few decades.
Rackspace’s re-activation of the former mall did spark some economic revival around the I-35/Walzem Road area.
However, Rackspace’s presence did not prompt the creation of a live/work/play neighborhood, which previous local leaders had hoped would become a reality. Nor did it lead to development of a vacant 23-acre tract, which some city officials two decades ago envisioned becoming a sort of town center in the middle of Windcrest.
Still, local leaders are confident that the establishment of the Windcrest International Business Park, and the WEDC’s efforts to market other available commercial properties, will bolster the influx of new businesses.
The Windcrest EDC recorded nearly $700,000 in sales tax revenue in Fiscal Year 2025, projecting that number to decrease to $650,000 in the current Fiscal Year 2026. WEDC is estimating $750,000 in sales tax income in its proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
There has been a recent influx of businesses, including Marshall’s, Treasure Buffet, 85C Degrees Bakery and EoS Fitness. A coffee shop and a Puerto Rican restaurant are due to open in town soon. Iowa-based pizza and fried chicken chain Pizza Ranch is redeveloping a former Luby’s restaurant on Walzem Road, and the former Builders Mark store is under redevelopment.
“Windcrest’s economy is experiencing genuine momentum right now,” WEDC board President Jennifer Newman said. “While past development concepts evolved in different directions, the fundamentals haven’t changed—we’re a strategically located community with strong city infrastructure and an engaged business-friendly leadership.”
According to Newman, the arrival of the aforementioned businesses and other renowned enterprises demonstrates market confidence in Windcrest’s location and amenities, and the business park conversion represents a significant chance for the Northeast Side suburb to diversify its economic base beyond traditional retailers.
“We’re actively cultivating leads with property developers and have the partnerships in place to move these initiatives forward,” Newman said. “We operate within a broader economic landscape that presents challenges, and Windcrest’s resilience and our commitment to thoughtful, sustainable growth puts us in a strong position.”
Newman said the next 18 months will be pivotal for the business park, and she and fellow city leaders are optimistic about the Windcrest International Business Park becoming a success.
“We’ve positioned ourselves for success,” Hernandez added.
