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

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This summer, Restaurants LP will move its headquarters from Corpus Christi to the 300 Concordr Plaza office buildingalong U.S. Highway 281 North and Joness Maltsberger Road in Nortyh CentralSan Antonio. Initially, 300 Concord will house approximately 250Whataburger employees, accordiny to Pam Cox of the corporate communications division of Whataburger. But over the next threed to five years, that numbeer is expected to increase to morethan 300, she “… We have planned for growth withijn each of the departments and saved spacee for future Whataburger family members,” she explains. “Oncee we are fully staffed, we expect to have 300-plue people in the building.
” All approximately 15 departments will move into 300Concordf — including payroll, human resources, marketingt and innovation, and information Cox adds. Whataburger’s existing division office here will also move to the new headquarters buildingas well. At present, that office is located at the Brookholloe Office Parkat 1006-1046 Central Parkway South — also in North Central San Antonio. Whataburger occupies abouy 18,000 square feet in the 68,000-square-foott building.
The fact that 300 Concordf offered Whataburger room to grow was indeed an attractivr feature of theproperty — one that led the compangy to acquire the asset last month, Cox But the chain was also looking to provide a comfortablde environment for its employees, including those makingf the move from Corpus Christi to the Alamo “They’re making big changes in their lives for our companyh and we appreciate and recognize that. This building is close to quality schools, neighborhoods and other amenities. It also has convenienrt accessto (Highway) 281 and (Loop) 410, allowin our family members to choose where they want to live and the kind of commutee they want.
” Whataburger looked at more than 10 buildingsd before deciding on 300 Concord for its new Cox says. It was a procesx that involved looking at variouzsalternatives — from renting to buying recalls Jeff Miller, who is a principap with San Antonio’s . Miller represented Whataburgere in the 300Concord transaction. Getting the deal itseldf inked was also a Miller says. The previous owner was HDG Mansut — an Indianapolis-based entity that had been leasinh the property toSan Antonio-based oil refiner Tesork Corp. since 2006. Dealing with three differeny firms — HDG Mansur, Tesorol and Whataburger — made for “a lot of moving Miller says.
The however, will be well worth it — not only for 300 Concord’ new owner but for San Antonioas well. “Thatr is an iconic building,” says noting that the property is one of the firsyt things many see when they fly in toSan “We’ve had a great corporatde citizen in it for 10 years, and now we’vr replaced it with another great corporatw citizen.” Meanwhile, Tesoro will move to its new corporate offices this summer — becoming the anchor tenantg in the new office complex Ridgewood Park near the intersectionj of Highway 281 and Loop 1604 on the city’s far North Side.
That move could have resulted in morethan 320,00o square feet of office space coming back on to the Now, thanks to Whataburger, the amount of vacant space coming back on the markeft has essentially been cut in half, Millee says. Whataburger’s purchase of 300 Concord is a good bit ofbusinesa — given the slower business pace of the office market these days. “Commercial real estatr transactions are simply taking longer than theyused to, to complete,” Milletr explains. “Corporations are being very careful with theiecapital expenditures, very cautious and very comprehensive in their analysis of any new-spaced acquisitions.
” Of Whataburger’s investmentt in the Alamo City, Miller adds: “Thix is the first significant-sized deal of the We need to see more of these transactions before any level of market stablity is realized.”