By Edmond Ortiz
Officials with the team that is redeveloping the 97-year-old Tower Life from an office and retail building into an apartment high-rise recently said they are entering a phased delivery to accommodate early pre-leasing in 2027, allowing tenants to move in floor-by-floor instead of awaiting total completion of the building’s conversion.
Local reporters and staffers from the San Antonio City Council District 1 office were among the special guests who toured Tower Life Residences and got a progress update from project leaders April 21.
Crews from contractor Jordan Foster have been carrying out an array of construction activities at 310 S. St. Mary’s St. that are key toward modernizing the 31-story, neo-gothic structure. The redevelopment will yield 242 leaseable apartments, including studios with 12-foot ceilings and custom-designed penthouses.
A quick history
Originally completed in 1929, the building – called the Smith-Young Tower back then – hosted San Antonio’s first Sears, Roebuck and Co. store, which occupied four stories.
The structure also provided office space for a variety of companies and organizations, including the U.S. Army’s 3rd Army headquarters during World War II. The renowned H.B. Zachry family had owned the high-rise for 78 years.
In spring 2022, a group composed of developer Ed Cross, Jon Wiegand, and McCombs Enterprises purchased Tower Life with the aim of remaking it into a residential tower, the result one of the city’s more significant adaptive reuse projects in recent years.
Modern conversion
Project leaders said workers have had to cut into existing floor plates to introduce a large light well in order to help meet contemporary residential natural light requirements, which otherwise had been lacking in what had long been an office building.
Project leaders also said that transitioning Tower Life from a nearly-century-old commercial building with an open floor plan into a residential highrise has required a complete overhaul of the complex’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
As a result, every new apartment unit will have new distribution risers for kitchens and bathrooms, and modernized fire suppression and sound control systems.
Additionally, contractors are working to integrate 21st century heating/ventilation/air conditioning and electrical systems without damaging parts of a structure built in the 1920s. Project leaders said they are also preserving the tower’s original terrazzo flooring and intricate lobby molding.
When completed, Tower Life Residences will also feature 5,000 square feet of rooftop gardens, a wellness center with yoga and meditation areas, private event rooms, bars and lounges for residents, and an on-site dog run and dog wash spa. The seventh-floor amenities section will have direct access to the rooftop gardens.
Brent Salter of Amigo Walking Tours provided some tidbits of the building’s history during the special April 21 tour of Tower Life.
“What an incredible team for a special place,” Salter said of the project partners, which include Alamo Architects as the lead architecture firm, and Front Porch Design Group as the design partner. “This is a really good space. We’re excited.”
