Austonio’s Seguin Seeks Developer for Historic Downtown

A mixed-use developer with a knack for adaptive reuse could score in Seguin.

The city about 30 miles east of San Antonio is seeking development partners to reimagine historic buildings near the city’s Central Park neighborhood, the San Antonio Business Journal reported.

The redevelopment will focus on four buildings spanning a full city block, including the Nolte National Bank Building at 101 East Nolte Street and an old post office at 202 North Camp Street, which the city envisions as anchors of a downtown transformation.

Seguin acquired the Nolte property recently and enlisted TBA Douglas Architects to craft a plan for the site that would blend the city’s history, which dates back to 1883, with modern functionality. The plan envisions hotels, restaurants, multifamily and office.

The city is rezoning the property to define the intended uses while ensuring the preservation of the historic buildings.

Seguin, with a population of about 30,000, is in the emerging megaregion of Austin and San Antonio. The city aims to tap into the broader growth in part by focusing on revitalizing underutilized properties in its historic core.

“We’ve got some big challenges ahead of us with all the growth, with the potential relocation of some businesses,” said Kyle Kramm, director of the Main Street and Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Seguin plans to finalize its selection of a development partner in the first quarter of next year.

Developments in Seguin include Periscope Capital Investments and Verdot Capital’s 198-unit apartment complex The Virginia, which was expected to be delivered later this year.

Verdot Capital is so bullish on Central Texas that it sold all of its assets in South Florida to focus its business on the region. It is also planning a 226-unit apartment complex in Seguin.

“We needed projects that we could turn faster, and we realized we needed to be in developing markets rather than in developed markets,” Verdot’s director of operations Sacha Azoulai told the Austin Business Journal last year.

— Andrew Terrell