A long vacant downtown office building at 145 Navarro is finally on the verge of changing hands for roughly $32 million, with Ashford Hospitality Trust listed as the lead buyer and Graystreet Partners in the backup slot in recent court filings. The 10-story property, the former CPS Energy headquarters, has sat mostly empty as a planned hotel conversion stalled and creditors circled. If the sale closes, control of the long-troubled River Walk area site would shift to a national hospitality player.
Buyer named in court filings
Court records in the bankruptcy case identify Ashford Hospitality Trust as the lead bidder at $32 million and Graystreet Partners as the backup, according to San Antonio Business Journal. The filings detail a sale process that follows months of contested motions, contractor liens and loan defaults. The publication reports that the deal would move the building out of the hands of an affiliate of Blueprint Hospitality, which acquired the property in 2022.
Blueprint's hotel plan ran aground
Blueprint Hospitality bought the 10-story tower in 2022 with plans to convert it into a 243-room Marriott Autograph hotel called El Portal, part of a roughly $55 million redevelopment, as reported by the Express-News. Rising construction costs and disputes with contractors helped sink that vision, and the owner later sought Chapter 11 protection. The stalled project left the former office building empty and opened the door to a crowd of creditors.
Bankruptcy fight, liens and earlier bids
Contractors lodged about $8 million in liens and lenders moved to foreclose, according to The Real Deal, which also noted an earlier $32 million offer from Ashford and a judge's signoff to advance a sale. Those court moves cleared the way for competing bidders and a formal auction-style process under bankruptcy court oversight. The case has become a textbook example of how financing snags and construction disputes can derail office-to-hotel conversions.
What the sale could mean for downtown
The building appears on the city's vacant-building inventory, underscoring how long it has been dark and its potential to add another block of hotel rooms near the River Walk, according to city records. Local coverage has tracked a steady stream of proposed downtown hotels, while analysts caution that more rooms could strain demand if business travel and group bookings fail to keep pace. For nearby merchants and residents, whether the site finally comes back to life will help shape foot traffic and hospitality services along a key stretch of the central business district.
Next steps
The court filings that put Ashford in the lead position mark a major step toward a sale, but the deal still has to clear the rest of the bankruptcy process and the resolution of outstanding claims, according to San Antonio Business Journal. The documents do not spell out a closing date or a redevelopment schedule. For now, downtown watchers will be scanning the bankruptcy docket for hearing dates and a confirmation order that would greenlight a transfer and, eventually, a long delayed hotel conversion.
