By Edmond Ortiz
A vacant building that once housed a large home improvement store in Windcrest will be revived for new commercial use.
What is happening
An entity called Windcrest Pad Ltd., which owns the former Builders Mark store property at 7876 I-35 N., plans to spend $9.9 million to demolish the existing structure and replace it with at least 9,250 square feet of retail space alongside an improved parking lot. The 2.63-acre property has been on the market for leasing.
Representatives for Windcrest Pad Ltd. recently dispatched a letter of intent, which Windcrest City Council formally received ahead of its April 20 meeting.
The letter outlines how the developer is currently working with the Windcrest Economic Development Corp. to formulate the redevelopment project, a process that will include WEDC board approval, public hearings and council review, although no detailed schedule has yet been revealed.
According to the letter of intent, the property owner will enter into an economic development incentive agreement, which will involve a six-month construction project that will lead to the creation of 19 construction jobs.
The new commercial development at 7876 I-35 N. will result in the hiring of 260 retail jobs, with sales there generating more than $14 million in annual revenue, the preliminary agreement states. The new retail tenants are estimated to produce $5.5 million in sales tax revenue over a 15-year term.
In return, WEDC would pay out $1 million in economic development incentives over a five-year period; WEDC has a right to recapture the percentage of such revenue if tenants’ sales tax revenue achievement goals are not met by the end of 2028.
A larger perspective
The current structure in question was previously operated by Builders Square, a once-popular, locally headquartered chain of home improvement stores. When Builders Square vacated the building, it was occupied by Builders Mark, a similar concept.
The effort to redevelop the former Builders Mark property is part of Windcrest’s ongoing push to reinvigorate its vacant or underdeveloped commercial sectors.
The city’s business community took a hit a couple of years ago when locally based technology firm Rackspace Hosting announced it was moving from its headquarters at the former Windsor Park Mall to a downsized corporate campus in north central San Antonio.
Windcrest has since partnered with Ohio-based Industrial Commercial Properties to turn the former mall into Windcrest International Business Park, which offers 685,000 square feet of warehouse, flex industrial and office space.
