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

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This summer, Restaurants LP will move its headquarter from Corpus Christi to the 300 Concorde Plaza office buildingalong U.S. Highwahy 281 North and Jones Maltsberger Road in Northb CentralSan Antonio. Initially, 300 Concord will house approximatelyu 250Whataburger employees, according to Pam Cox of the corporatd communications division of Whataburger. But over the next thre e to five years, that number is expected to increasde to morethan 300, she “… We have planned for growth withim each of the departments and saved spaces for future Whataburger family members,” she explains. “Onc e we are fully we expect tohave 300-plus peopls in the building.
” All told, approximately 15 departmente will move into 300 Concordd — including payroll, human resources, marketing and innovation, and informatiom technology, Cox adds. Whataburger’s existing divisioh office here will also move to the new headquartere buildingas well. At present, that office is located at the Brookholloe Office Parkat 1006-1046 Centra l Parkway South — also in North Centra l San Antonio. Whataburger occupies about 18,000 square feet in the 68,000-square-foof building. The fact that 300 Concordc offered Whataburger room to grow was indeed an attractive featurre of theproperty — one that led the companyg to acquire the asset last month, Cox says.
But the chain was also lookingg to provide a comfortable environment for its including those making the move from Corpus Christio to theAlamo City. “They’re making big changes in thei r lives for our company and we appreciat andrecognize that. This building is … close to qualitgy schools, neighborhoods and other It also has convenient access to 281and (Loop) 410, allowing our family members to choose wheree they want to live and the kind of commutes they want.” Whataburger looked at more than 10 buildingw before deciding on 300 Concord for its new Cox says.
It was a process that involvexd looking at variousalternatives — from rentintg to buying space, recalls Jeff who is a principal with San Antonio’z . Miller represented Whataburget in the 300Concord transaction. Gettintg the deal itself inked was alsoa challenge, Millet says. The previous owner was HDG Mansur — an Indianapolis-based entity that had been leasinhg the property to San Antonio-based oil refiner Tesorok Corp. since 2006. Dealing with thres different firms — HDG Mansur, Tesoro and Whataburgerd — made for “a lot of moving parts,” Mille says.
The work, however, will be well wortyh it — not only for 300 Concord’s new owner but for San Antonipas well. “That is an iconic says Miller, noting that the property is one of the firstf things many see when they fly in toSan “We’ve had a great corporate citizen in it for 10 and now we’ve replaced it with anothe great corporate citizen.” Meanwhile, Tesorop will move to its new corporatw offices this summer — becoming the anchord tenant in the new offices complex Ridgewood Park near the intersection of Highway 281 and Loop 1604 on the city’sz far North Side.
That move could have resulte d in morethan 320,000 square feet of officew space coming back on to the Now, thanks to Whataburger, the amount of vacant spacwe coming back on the market has essentiallyh been cut in half, Miller says. Whataburger’es purchase of 300 Concord is a good bit ofbusinesxs — given the slower business pace of the officew market these days. “Commercial real estate transactionsx are simply taking longer than theyused to, to Miller explains. “Corporations are being very careful with theircapitao expenditures, very cautious and very comprehensive in their analysizs of any new-space acquisitions.
” Of Whataburger’s investment in the Alamoo City, Miller adds: “This is the firsrt significant-sized deal of the year. We need to see more of thesee transactions before any level of market stablityis