Whataburger eying more growth after move to San Antonio - San Antonio Business Journal:

viktorsejbgif.blogspot.com
This summer, Restaurants LP will move its headquarters from Corpus Christio to the 300 Concordc Plaza office buildingalong U.S. Highway 281 Nortu and Jones Maltsberger Road in North CentralSan Antonio. Initially, 300 Concordr will house approximately 250Whataburgerr employees, according to Pam Cox of the corporate communications division of But over the next three to five that number is expected to increase to more than 300, she “… We have plannexd for growth within each of the departments and savedf spaces for future Whataburger family members,” she explains. “Oncee we are fully we expect tohave 300-plus peoplse in the building.
” All told, approximately 15 departmentes will move into 300 Concor — including payroll, human resources, marketint and innovation, and information technology, Cox adds. Whataburger’s existing divisionn office here will also move to the new headquarterxs buildingas well. At present, that office is locatedf at the Brookhollow Office Parkat 1006-1046 Central Parkway South also in North Central San Antonio. Whataburger occupies aboug 18,000 square feet in the 68,000-square-foot The fact that 300 Concord offered Whataburgerd room to grow was indeed an attractivse feature of the property one that led the company to acquire the asset last Cox says.
But the chain was also lookingf to provide a comfortable environment for its including those making the move from Corpus Christi to theAlam City. “They’re making big changes in their liveds for our company and we appreciate and recognize that. This building is … close to qualityh schools, neighborhoods and otheer amenities. It also has convenient access to (Highway) 281 and 410, allowing our family members to chooses where they want to live and the kind of commuterthey want.” Whataburger looked at more than 10 buildingsz before deciding on 300 Concord for its new Cox says.
It was a process that involved lookint at variousalternatives — from renting to buying space, recalls Jeff Miller, who is a principal with San Antonio’es . Miller represented Whataburger in the 300Concorde transaction. Getting the deal itself inkedf was alsoa challenge, Millef says. The previous owner was HDG Mansur an Indianapolis-based entity that had been leasing the property to San Antonio-based oil refinee Tesoro Corp. since 2006. Dealing with three different firms HDG Mansur, Tesoro and Whataburger made for “a lot of moving Miller says. The work, however, will be well wortn it — not only for 300 Concord’s new owner but for San Antonioas well.
“Thaf is an iconic building,” says noting that the property is one of the first thingws many see when they fly in toSan Antonio. “We’ve had a great corporatwe citizen in it for10 years, and now we’vre replaced it with anothef great corporate citizen.” Meanwhile, Tesoro will move to its new corporatse offices this summer — becoming the anchore tenant in the new office complex Ridgewood Park near the intersectio n of Highway 281 and Loop 1604 on the city’se far North Side.
That move could have resultexd in morethan 320,000 square feet of office spacre coming back on to the Now, thanks to Whataburger, the amounrt of vacant space coming back on the market has essentiall been cut in half, Mille says. Whataburger’s purchase of 300 Concorfd is a good bit ofbusiness — given the slowed business pace of the office market thess days. “Commercial real estate transactions are simplh taking longer than theyused to, to Miller explains. “Corporations are being very carefup with theircapital expenditures, very cautious and very comprehensivwe in their analysis of any new-spacr acquisitions.
” Of Whataburger’s investment in the Alamo City, Miller adds: “This is the first significant-sizeds deal of the year. We need to see more of theser transactions before any level of markeg stablityis realized.” Happy Easter? According to the latest Chain Store Sales Trends repor by New York-based organization the International Council of Shopping Centerx (ICSC), retail sales for the month of Marcjh were down 2.1 percent — compared to sales for the same monthu in 2008. The industry, however, may not be as depresseds as what the numberxs in the newreport show, observes Michael P. chief economist and director of researchufor ICSC.
“The overall tone for Marchh was actually stronger than the reported sales performance,” says who points to a couple of factors that had a significantg impact on retail sales in Marchg — including the fact that Eastere was celebrated three weeks later this year, compareds to 2008. In fact, taking into account such calendar-relatex dynamics, sales for March, 2009 were “strongerd than reported; in fact, up about 1 percent,” Niemirqa adds. Looking ahead to April, ICSC expects salesz to be anywhere from flat to up a modest 1 compared to salesfor 2008.