{"id":242718,"date":"2026-04-09T23:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/242718\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T23:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:04:19","slug":"continental-building-opens-along-san-pedro-creek-part-of-a-historic-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/242718\/","title":{"rendered":"Continental Building opens along San Pedro Creek, part of a historic revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for TPR Today<\/a>, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.<\/p>\n

The new Continental Residences<\/a> near San Pedro Creek Culture Park<\/a> are now open, where the past is built into what\u2019s new. <\/p>\n

Three years ago, many people might not have had much reason to traverse this stretch of Commerce Street. Now, it\u2019s home to the new Continental Residences, where the past is built into what\u2019s new. <\/p>\n

Mark Jensen<\/a> built the tower. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sitting in the brand-new Continental Residences. It is on the edge of the recently revitalized San Pedro Creek,\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n

San Pedro Creek crosses under Commerce Street on the western edge of downtown. In downtown San Antonio, the Continental has taken shape, floor-by-floor over the last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other side of this, across Dolorosa, just three years ago, was the old county jail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Before the Continental began to rise, that jail was torn down, floor by floor. <\/p>\n

From the 16th floor of the brand-new building, Jensen said the structures at its base aren\u2019t new.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had four historic structures on it up until very recently, and it still has three. So on the Dolorosa side is the Arana Building, a little two-story building that we have brought back to its original configuration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attractive red-brick Arana Building was built in 1926.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were also two single-family houses on this block still remaining as of very recently,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cOne, the O. Henry House, actually had been moved twice before, and its third, and what we hope is its final relocation and resting place.\u201d<\/p>\n

That O. Henry House was moved just a block away to the Casa Navarro State Historic Site. The De La Garza House remains on site, facing Laredo Street.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Screenshot 2026-04-08 103355.jpg\n <\/p>\n

From Dolorosa looking northeast on the Arana building side. <\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Screenshot 2026-04-08 103454.jpg\n <\/p>\n

The pool<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

And that leaves the old Continental Hotel property that faces Commerce Street. Cory Edwards is the interim director of the city\u2019s Office of Historic Preservation, <\/p>\n

\u201cThe old Continental Hotel, at one point, ended up in the city\u2019s hands,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n

It later became, for decades, the Bexar County Health building. The location and the challenges the older structures created were substantial. Edwards said the brickwork was surprisingly complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will see at least four different iterations of masonry, he said. \u201cThe original masonry. Some sections where they built onto it, then what was definitely done in that ’80s renovation, and then, most recently, us going back, finding materials as close as we could to that original masonry, and bringing back the archway.\u201d<\/p>\n

To give the building local flavor, the developers tapped San Antonio artist Analy Diego <\/a>to curate a collection. Sunny Davila manages the Continental Residences.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a012-SQFT-7427.jpg\n <\/p>\n

16th Floor lounge area<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a078-SQFT-7605.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Continental’s pool<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that juxtaposition of old and new, where Weston Urban has very eloquently maintained the respect for these historic buildings,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Davila said the selection of 172 pieces of art is varied and inspiring to those who will call this home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that we\u2019re using art in a way that the residents can really engage with, and our guests, and it really connects them,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see the future murals, because I think that they will tie in.\u201d<\/p>\n

She notes that this project is a unique blend of new and old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the juxtaposition of something very old and very new. I like all of the color. I tell my staff to wear color every day. Most days you come in and we\u2019re all in bright, vibrant colors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n 1 of 4
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Breezeway.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Breezeway between the old Continental Hotel building, and new construction<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

\n 2 of 4
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Screenshot 2026-04-08 102742.jpg\n <\/p>\n

common area on the first floor<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Screenshot 2026-04-08 103434.jpg\n <\/p>\n

pool at night<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

\n 4 of 4
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Screenshot 2026-04-08 104853.jpg\n <\/p>\n

view from the 16th floor lounge<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

Mark Jensen says each project he tackles is a new and interesting challenge, but he says this experience may have changed his view on art.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inspired me, personally and us, to a large degree, to double down, triple down on our efforts to really make sure that we\u2019re incorporating art inside these buildings,\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n

The Continental features residences, as its name suggests, but it will also include short-term lodging. Developers expect the ground-floor storefronts to become restaurants or other local businesses. It\u2019s new chapter for a place that\u2019s always held many before.<\/p>\n

\"16th<\/p>\n

The Continental Residences<\/p>\n

16th floor lounge area<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-242718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-san-antonio","9":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","10":"tag-san-antonio-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}