San Antonio Telecom Hotel Gets First Tenant

Feb. 28, 2001 -- San Antonio developer Eugene Simor and his Dallas-based partner John Miller announced the first lease for their San Antonio telecom hotel facility, the former Merchants Ice and Cold Storage facility located at 1305 E. Houston.
The developers said an unnamed international telecommunications firm that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange has signed a 10,000 square foot lease. According to Simor, the tenant will deploy a portion of its nationwide telecom network at this location, and has an option to expand its lease. At the tenant's request, their name is not being released at this time.
The facility is keeping the Merchants ICE name on the building, but now the ICE will stand for International Communication Exchange.
Simor described the lease as an "icebreaker" that's generating interest from other prospects, saying many companies have expressed interest in the space, but no one wanted to be the first one to go on the site.
"The engineers would come out and love the space because it is a perfect fit," said Simor. "However, the marketing people would raise concerns about its outward appearance."
But Miller noted that that earlier reluctance has disappeared.
"We are currently working with three different telco users, each needing about 10,000 square feet," said Miller, who noted that the undisclosed first tenant did extensive due diligence on the site before leasing.
"Their analysis confirmed our earlier reports that all of the right ingredients are here: substantial electrical power, multiple fiber providers, and buildings that are rock solid with large floor plates," said Miller.
The developers said the ICE facility might benefit from a shortage of data center space in the Austin market. One prospect is considering the ICE facility for an expansion of its Austin location, believing it may prove more effective to locate an expansion in San Antonio and 'back haul' data to Austin.
Simor and Miller are also partners on the 500,000 square foot Friedrich Lofts project in San Antonio, located several blocks away from the ICE building, on e-Commerce Street. In August the Friedrich received a $1.5 million renovation and economic development grant from HUD. The Friedrich is currently working with the city of San Antonio on a $9,000,000 Section 108 HUD loan for the Friedrich for its renovation into residential and office lofts.
Simor noted that both the office and residential tenants at Friedrich will have direct fiber optic connection to carriers located in the ICE facility. "The synergies of having users and carriers directly connected by dedicated fiber optics will be of benefit to both properties" said Simor.
Miller's Urban Village company has had substantial loft renovation experience in the downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum markets. Miller has also developed a telecom facility in Dallas, and has several other telco sites in the works under the brand name OnRampToFiber.
TeleServices Inc is handling the construction management and design of the initial 10,000 square feet in San Antonio.