SAN ANTONIO – After buying the downtown landmark in early 2024, the developers behind the revamp of the Villita Assembly Hall have moved quickly to prepare it for its next life.
Local real estate firm MLSA Ventures has spent months in design on the project, pushing it through the Historic and Design Review Commission for conceptual approval and historic tax certification over the summer. With many of the hurdles cleared, the group is hoping to start the renovation in summer 2025 with the goals of strengthening the structure’s connection to the River Walk and attracting more visitors downtown.
The team has set its sights on food and beverage activation to accomplish this, tasking JLL with hunting for operators. Senior Vice President Emily Durham and Vice President Land Folkes are heading up the effort. In a recent interview with the Business Journal, they said project leaders want to offer prospective visitors a dining experience akin to Pearl.
“We really see the opportunity to bring some more elevated operators, where the focus really is on food, not solely on drinking and not solely a tourist-focused brand,” Durham said.
Numerous test fits have led the team to focus on having one operator on the street level of the development. For the section that connects to the River Walk, they see room for up to three operators. Food and beverage and experiential retail are the two targets.
Read more of this story, and other stories like it, in the San Antonio Business Journal.
Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.