San Antonio Offices:

San Antonio’s economy is based on four main areas: tourism, finance, government and health care. It is therefore, no surprise that in the current slowdown many projects have been placed on hold. Most of them are related to the tourist trade—hotels and mixed use of hotel/residence complexes. With an office space vacancy rate of 18.7% and San Antonio office space rental rates dipping to $25.03/square foot, there seems to be little incentive for developers to launch any major office tower projects. With move in rates so low, any search for a property should be calculated as many opportunities exist for the tenant. Terms and lease agreements should be negotiated to favor the tenant whether one is searching for an executive suite or a large commercial office building. These same current conditions almost resemble those in Dallas, Houston, and Austin Texas.

Unemployment Rates:

Still, San Antonio, Texas does not appear to be suffering as much as many other cities that had to table plans to increase commercial inventory. The city’s unemployment rate of 7.1% is well below the national average and the cost of living is an attractive 0.80. The unemployment rate is particularly impressive, considering that this city of 1.35 million has an 18.1% increase in population since 2000, which may, in part, account for its relatively high crime rate of 79/1,000 residents. These positive economic factors have helped to sustain San Antonio Office Space rates, but you still want to pay attention to selecting the right office space floorplan for yourself.

Construction in the Central Business District has been almost nil. One exception is the Courtyard by Marriot, a 17 story, 220 room hotel with retail space downtown. Approximately 25 million tourists visit San Antonio each year and the city has a lot to offer them. The Alamo, where a handful of men (Davy Crockett among them) fought for Texas independence is now part of downtown and is the most-visited site in the state. Also located downtown is the River Walk with its many restaurants and retail shops and a restored movie theater ‘ Aztec on the River’ as well as the open air ‘Arneson River Theater’.

Downtown News:

Downtown San Antonio also has many other points of interest, such as the Majestic Theatre which was built in 1929, the Tower of the Americas (restaurant/observation tower), the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, the Spanish Governor’s Palace (built around 1725), and the San Antonio Missions National Park, which has preserved the four missions (besides the Alamo) that were established in San Antonio in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The Menger Hotel, which has become a popular destination for ghost hunters and is also in the San Antonio downtown area.

San Antonio is also home to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, two very popular theme parks. There are several excellent museums too, such as the McNay Art Museum, the San Antonio Museum of Art, and the Texas Transportation Museum.

Tourism / Economy:

In addition to tourism, the local economy is boosted by a strong military presence. Lackland and Randolph Air Force Bases are located there, as is Fort Sam Houston. Just outside of the city are Camp Stanley and Camp Bullis. The military employs nearly 90,000 people, and has a significant impact on revenue.

San Antonio is also headquarters for the South Texas Medical Center building, which not only provides health care but is the only medical research facility in South Texas. There are also several Fortune 500 companies based in the city, most of them in the energy field. The bottom line is this, with commercial real estate prices plummeting, now is the time to rent a San Antonio office space simply because of pricing.