A midcentury Josephine Street building just north of downtown is inching toward a new life as Jackies Desert Rose after a multi-year renovation that is converting the former Worthington Laundry into a 5,046-square-foot hospitality space. Project filings show the work has included structural repairs, a new steel-and-glass curtain wall and a dedicated beverage service area, with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation listing the estimated build cost at about $500,000. Construction began in March 2023, and the next steps, from final inspections to an eventual public opening, remain unclear as neighbors and city officials have watched the slow-moving site for months.
Project records show major retrofit
According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the renovation was filed under project TABS2023010252, with a listed start date of March 1, 2023 and a targeted completion of August 15, 2025. The filing pegs construction costs at $500,000 for the 5,046-square-foot single-story building at 519 E. Josephine St. and details a substantial retrofit: maintenance to the masonry veneer and steel structure, replacement of the aluminum curtain wall with site-built steel-and-glass units, and installation of a beverage service area to support hospitality use.
Who's behind the spot
Property records list Jackies Desert Rose, LLC as the owner and show Aldridge Architecture Office as the project's design firm, per WhatNow. The conversion was first flagged in early 2023 as a San Antonio outpost from Austin operators Nathan Hill and Jeremy Murray, Axios reported at the time.
Slow build, local questions
Reporting from MySA found the site remained a construction zone well after the mid-August 2025 completion target, with rubble, boarded windows and blocked sidewalks prompting city cleanup orders, fines and liens. The outlet also noted that signage around the property advertised "Jackie's Desert Oasis," and it quoted owner Nathan Hill saying, "San Antonio has always held a special place in my heart," a line he shared with MySA in 2023 when the project was first announced.
What's next for the Josephine site
As WhatNow reports, the TDLR filing is now listed as "Review Complete," a status that could clear the way for final inspections and permits. WhatNow notes that it reached out to Jackies Desert Rose for comment and additional details about an opening timeline.
Local context
The building sits in Government Hill just north of the Pearl district, an area that has seen steady investment in housing and mixed-use projects in recent years, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. If the bar opens, it would add another late-night hospitality option to a neighborhood that local developers and residents say is still finding its identity as the city grows.
