A newly formed Houston-based real estate investment firm acquired some prime real estate on the San Antonio River Walk, a top tourism attraction in Texas that sees more than 11 million visitors a year.
Fifth Corner's purchase of South Bank, a 46,704-square-foot, high-performing retail space at 111 W. Crockett St., is a homecoming of sort for the firm's founders, who formerly worked at AmREIT.
AmREIT owned the property between 2005 and 2015. The seller, national developer Edens, came into possession of the property in 2015 when it bought AmREIT.
The price Fifth Corner paid to acquire South Bank was not disclosed. Fifth Corner secured financing for the acquisition with Woodforest National Bank.
The deal is significant since retail on the River Walk rarely goes up for sale and only six individual retail assets there have traded hands since 2005. The sale earned a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
South Bank was 100% occupied at the time of sale with an average tenant tenure of more than 20 years. Those tenants include Ben & Jerry’s, Hard Rock Café, County Line BBQ, Howl at the Moon and Paesanos.
About the project: The three-story building was constructed in 1994. South Bank takes up an entire block at Crockett Street and Presa Street.
What the judges said: "The sale of South Bank was the purchase of an asset by a new company that will continue to grow their footprint in San Antonio," said Leah Gallagher with Transwestern.
“What can [you] say about selling a property on the San Antonio River Walk ... spectacular location. This sale showcases San Antonio commercial real estate,” said Mike Reyna with TC Austin Realty Advisors.
They made it happen: JLL brokered the deal between Fifth Corner and Edens. Chris Gerard, Ryan West, Barry Brown, Erin Lazarus and Megan Babovec all worked on the deal on behalf of JLL.