San Antonio Gets First New Office Tower in 30 Years
San Antonio, the third largest city in Texas, and seventh largest in the United States, recently welcomed its first new office tower in 30 years.
The 24-story Frost Tower adds a new dimension to the city's downtown skyline. The building features an octagon-shaped design that tapers up to a curtain wall "crown" supported by structural steel. Each floor's unique design gives the building a twisting geometric appearance.
"Each floor's footprint pulls in by six inches as you go up the structure," explains John Warren, project executive at Clark Construction, which built the tower. “Conversely, each octagon's corner expands by three-and-a-half inches, which is what creates the twist pattern."
Located in the heart of San Antonio's central business district, the $142 million Frost Tower was designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and Kendall/Heaton Associates Inc. It was developed by WestonUrban, a San Antonio-based developer.
Weston Urban was initially launched in 2012 to attract and retain San Antonio's tech talent. But it has broadened its mission to focus on development projects in the city's center. In addition to The Frost Tower, its portfolio includes several historic properties in San Antonio.
New downtown anchor. “As we look at the building, we have to recognize that this is a piece of a larger context, because the real work of art is the city, “ said the late César Pelli, senior principal architect for Pelli Clarke Pelli.
Pelli was co-founder of the New Haven, Conn.-based architectural firm the designed the Frost Tower. Among his many other projects are The World Financial Center in New York, the Regan National Airport North Terminal in Washington D.C., and The Petronas Towers in Malaysia—which was the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 2019.
21st century landmark. The tower boasts more than 460,000-square-feet of Class A office space—including 20,000 square feet for retail and restaurant development. The eponymous anchor tenant, Frost Bank, is one of the 60 largest U.S. banks by asset size, occupies about 250,000 square feet of the new financial center, with 650 employees working on-site.
Exterior landscaping around the building was designed by GGN. A two-mile public park around the building, which is situated on San Pedro Creek, is also in the works. County officials have committed $175 million for a riverwalk development. Parts of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park have already been completed, with the next phase set to be finished by 2021.
Construction work in progress. The LEED Silver building features high-efficiency light fixtures, low-emitting materials, low-flow plumbing fixtures, water-efficient landscaping, and electric car charging stations. The new development also includes a 1,000-space wraparound parking facility on the west side of the building.
Topping it off. Workers put the finishing touches on the crown of the new Frost Tower, which took about 26 months to build. “The Frost Tower is so symbolic because it is the first building built in San Antonio of this caliber in decades," explained Graham Weston, co-founder of Weston Urban. “This is a building built by one of the greatest architects in the world, and we're proud to have it be the focal point of the future of downtown."
Built to last. Offices in the new building feature floor-to-ceiling windows to optimize natural lighting and views of the surrounding area, as well as state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, including a dedicated IT space on each floor with redundant cabling to support multiple providers and services. The building is also designed with security in mind. In addition to 24/7 on-site security, it offers cutting-edge electronic security systems that provide access control and video surveillance. Other on-site amenities include a shared tenant lounge and a fitness center.
