San Antonio Business Journal - July 15, 2005 by Tricia Lynn Silva
The Dallas/San Antonio duo behind several residential developments here is moving forward on yet another venture.
Later this week, Dallas-based Baruch Properties and locally based Post Oak Development of Texas Inc. will close on the purchase of roughly 100 acres of land at Babcock Road and Luskey Boulevard in Northwest San Antonio.
About 88 acres of the tract will be set aside for single-family development, says Shaul Baruch, who is the owner of Baruch Properties. Plans call for a total of 220 lots; the homes will start at $250,000. The remaining 12 acres have been set aside for a multifamily project.
The new community is to be developed through a joint venture with a local homebuilder, adds Baruch. He declined to divulge the name of the partner, as negotiations are still ongoing.
Post Oak President Craig Glendenning declined to divulge development costs. The new community has yet to be named, he adds.
Meanwhile, Baruch remains on the lookout for more opportunities in San Antonio -- a city that has become a second home to the Dallas resident.
Indeed, the Babcock/Luskey deal is the latest in an 11-month buying spree in which the focus has been on large tracts of land for mixed-use developments. Just last month, Baruch and Post Oak inked a contract for roughly 1,750 acres of land located along Highway 16, about six miles northwest of Helotes.
And this past March the group announced plans for Sonoma Verde, a mixed-use development on about 685 acres of land located off of Kyle Seale Parkway, about two miles north of Loop 1604. Plans for the residential portion of the community call for upwards of 1,300 homes that will start at $200,000. The project lies just southwest of the Babcock/Luskey project.
Both Sonoma Verde and the Babcock/Luskey projects are poised to fit in with the existing residential development in the area, in which many of the households have annual income of $100,000 to $150,000, according to research conducted by Baruch Properties.
"That area is ready for new homes, especially homes starting at that price range," says Michael Hoover, vice president of locally based DB Harrell Commercial Real Estate Services."
He believes San Antonio's income level is rising and can support homes in that price range.
"San Antonio is not a blue-collar town any more," he says. "There are a lot of people in San Antonio that can afford a $200,000-home and up. People in this city are making money."
As proof, Hoover notes the two high-end shopping centers that lie in close proximity to both Sonoma Verde and the Babcock/Luskey tract: The Shops at La Cantera and The Rim.
"Stores like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Tiffany & Co. (all of which will be at The Shops) ... San Antonio is demanding these higher-end retailers," says Hoover. "These retailers would not be coming here if this was a blue-collar town."
"San Antonio is growing up in a lot of ways," adds Mike Molak, who is a senior lender in the commercial lending office of PlainsCapital Bank, which is headquartered in Dallas. Molak is located in the local office of the lender.
That the Babcock/Luskey project lies so close to so much commercial development is a factor that is not lost on Baruch. He is, however, more taken by the land itself, versus what is going on around it.
"This is a beautiful piece of land," he says. "It's like being outside of the city, but you're still in the middle of the city."
The views in the area are hard to match, adds Baruch, who sees the hilly topography of the Northwest Side tract as an advantage. The community, he says, will include several acres of green space.
While such projects may be harder and more expensive to build, Baruch believes the end will justify the challenges.
Predicts Hoover: "At the end of the day, this product will sell very quickly."