On a recent Thursday night, people were packed into St. Paul Square east of downtown.

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Some of them grabbed drinks and entrees at bars and restaurants throughout the historic area before heading to The Espee for a concert by Cake, which drew nearly 3,000. The rock band wrapped up about 9:30 p.m.

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When Don Thomas left at midnight, plenty of visitors were still out and about the historic district. He called it “a prime example of what we aspire tobe.” 

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“We wish wehad nights like that every night. If we did, we’d be wildly successful,” Thomas said. “The goal is to increase those experiences by at least 10- or 15-fold.”

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Thomas, Michael Jersin of CBRE Group Inc. and local developer David Adelman have been working since 2017 to turn the district bounded by Center and Montana streets, Interstate 37 and the railroad tracks into a buzzing destination. 

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They renovated the former Sunset Station rail depot and turned it into The Espee, a boutique amphitheater and event venue, and 1902 Nightclub. They partnered with local hotelier Charles Leddy to upgrade the Staybridge Suites.

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Bars and restaurants such as Lilly’s Greenville, Francis Bogside, Anne’s Wine Bar,Blayne’s Bar, Cellar Mixology, Alibis Sports & Spirits, Cuishe Cocina Mexicana, Suck It and Toro Kitchen + Bar are among the tenants that have opened in adjacent buildings. A spa, church and digital marketing agency also operate there.

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The Espee is the center piece of St. Paul Square. The entrance to the amphitheater and event venue is shown here.

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Challenges

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Still, some of the store fronts and upper-level offices remain empty and there’s little foot traffic on weekdays. Occupancy plummeted during the pandemic and now stands atabout 70%, Thomas said.

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The area also faces access challenges: It’s cut off from downtown by I-37 and the railroad tracks and finding parking can be a headache.

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Now, the business partners are asking the city for another $1 million from the Inner City Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone for signs, art and maintaining andpreserving buildings to draw more businesses and customers. 

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Increases in property tax revenue from land within the roughly 2.5-square-mile zone are used to reimburse developers for infrastructure and other public upgrades. The Inner City TIRZ board recently approved the request, which will be taken up by the City Council for final approval this fall.

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“Because there’s probably 200,000 square feet of total space in the district, we really need to be operating at a much higher occupancy to have enough things forpeople to come here on a more frequent basis,” Thomas said.

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The Espee venue at St. Paul’s Square is managed by the Ambassador Theatre Group, acompany that also oversees the Majestic Theatre and the Charline McCombs EmpireTheatre downtown.

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A rich history

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St. Paul Square was once a thriving business and entertainment hub for the Black community and the home of San Antonio’s oldest predominantly Black congregation.

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Its name comes from St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church, which was built in the 1800s and later moved to Center Street. The Southern Pacific Railroad Station, knownlater as Sunset Station, opened in 1903 and sparked much of the development in the area.

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But the activity dissipated in the 1960s and ‘70s as train travel declined, East Commerce Street changed to a one-way street, residents and companies moved to the suburbs, I-37 was erected and the Spurs left the Alamodome for the Frost Bank Center. Major tenants such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Aldaco’s Sunset Station departed, too.

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The late construction executive Bartell Zachry saw the potential for an entertainment district and bought many of the buildings but his vision never materialized. In 2017, Adelman, Jersin and Thomas bought multiple buildings from Zachry Corp. and purchased more from the city of San Antonio in 2019.

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Lilly's Greenville is one of several bars that have opened at St. Paul Square.

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Funding

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They also received $1.3 million from the Inner City TIRZ in 2019 for renovations to Sunset Station and other public improvements in the square.

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Others have spear headed projects in the area: developer NRP Group built a mixed-incomeapartment complex called The Baldwin in 2021 and a group of investors converted a Best Western hotel into a trendy boutique option called Aiden @ San Antonio Riverwalk, which opened last year. But another apartment complex proposedacross the tracks from The Espee has not materialized.

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Aside from the evening and nightlife elements, Thomas said the business partners want to attract more daytime foot traffic.

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He’s working on an outdoor food hall concept that could host food trucks, which could be an amenity for office tenants looking for breakfast and lunch options. Another coffee shop with food offerings is slated to open in a space previously occupied by Vice Versa Coffee Shop & Vinyl Records, which closed this spring.

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“We’re trying to create a little bit better product mix with our tenants,” Thomas said. 

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