After breaking ground on Caroline late last year, Houston-based developer Morgan Group is planning to nearly double the amount of apartments at Brooks in the coming years.
The company is prepping to start work on Altitude at Brooks, an 12-building, 324-unit complex that will spring up at 8223 Inner Circle Drive. Groundbreaking is expected in October, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The Brooks Development Authority, overseeing the former Air Force base, has spurred a flurry of activity over the past year, including office, build-to-rent, single-family and industrial construction.
Despite being on the same campus, Morgan’s Central Region Development Partner Jason Hauck told the Business Journal that Altitude will be outfitted with differing unit finishes, architecture and community themes from Caroline to appeal to different potential tenants. Location will also be a marketing factor.
“Additionally, Altitude is located in a different part of the Brooks Master Plan, on Inner Circle Drive, appealing to residents who want quieter surroundings, whereas Caroline is located in the midst of activity of the Town Center of Brooks,” he said.
Financing terms weren’t disclosed, though Hauck indicated the project would be funded through a mixture of a construction loan that hasn’t been finalized yet and joint venture equity between Morgan and Bitterblue Investments.
Brooks’ Chief Strategy Officer Connie Gonzalez said Morgan Group is aligned with the organization to fuel growth on the campus and surrounding area.
“There’s a need for more residential development within the southern region [of San Antonio], especially at Brooks. [Morgan Group] is part of our current visioning sessions where we’re looking at continuing more commercial office and retail growth. So, they’re part of those conversations and they see and are a part of fulfilling that housing need, not just at Brooks or the South Side but for all of San Antonio,” Gonzalez said in a recent interview.
With its remaining land available, the Brooks Development Authority is retooling its overall strategy for future uses, she added.
“We’re looking at the remaining 250 or so acres across our campus and essentially refreshing our land use and refreshing our master plan. We’re finalizing some new opportunities across the campus,” she said.
Morgan has several multifamily projects in predevelopment in San Antonio, Hauck indicated, as the company looks to help meet the region’s housing needs. But high interest rates continue to be an obstacle.
“Occupancies remain strong and renter demand has not waned. If anything, higher interest rates have increased the demand for rental housing as the cost of homeownership has increased. There is no doubt though that higher interest rates have made the cost of financing and, in turn, building new apartments more expensive, which is a challenge to new projects that the market is currently navigating,” he said.
Austin-based Davis Collaborative is the architect attached to the project. Morgan Group will use its in-house general contractor. Construction is expected to wrap up at the end of 2025, a year after Caroline at Brooks is slated to come online.
Article originally published here: Houston developer doubles down on apartments at Brooks