The long-stalled Durango Apartments project is back on the board, with Laney Development reviving plans for a high-rise at 427 South Presa Street and bumping the tower up to 17 stories. The surface lot sits a block west of Hemisfair and within a short walk of the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas and the Alamodome. City staff completed a preliminary review in June, and the developer is eyeing an early 2027 construction start if the project clears the approval process.
New filings summarized by The Real Deal show the proposal has grown since its 2017 debut, with the latest paperwork citing roughly 183,000 square feet and a minimum of 72 apartment units. State and city documents reviewed by the San Antonio Express-News outline an alternate version with about 95 dwelling units, street-level commercial space, a four-story parking garage and an estimated $40 million development cost. The differing unit counts and program details highlight how the layout is still in flux as the plan moves through municipal review.
Historic Review Slated for Aug. 5
City records describe the latest submission for 427 S. Presa as “an amendment to a previously approved design regarding materials, facade arrangement, and an increase in height” and show the case scheduled for an Aug. 5 hearing, according to the City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation. The Historic and Design Review Commission will weigh in on exterior materials and massing, a key checkpoint before Laney can pursue building permits.
What It Means for Downtown
The project’s return comes as downtown San Antonio is in expansion mode. A 2025 report from Partners Real Estate tallies roughly 1,700 multifamily units and about 900 hotel rooms completed, proposed or under construction in the downtown submarket since 2023. The report credits institutional anchors with helping drive that growth, including the University of Texas at San Antonio’s move into One Riverwalk Place. UTSA reports that the building now houses its School of Architecture and Planning and is channeling student and faculty demand toward downtown rentals.
The Durango site sits squarely in that emerging corridor and near other proposals tied to the planned Project Marvel arena and entertainment district. If the tower proceeds, it would turn a surface lot into housing and ground-floor commercial space at the doorstep of Hemisfair, plugging into a cluster of new and proposed developments.
A Project With a Long History
Laney first floated the Durango concept in 2017, when application materials filed with the city’s Center City Development & Operations Department described a mid-rise tower of roughly 70 units. The design has been reworked several times as the developer and city officials negotiated building height, parking and street-level uses.
City records show the project was also included in a center-city incentive agreement approved in late 2017, indicating that the developer previously pursued fee waivers and tax incentives for the site, according to Center City Development & Operations Department materials and the city’s Active Incentive Agreements list. That mix of financial structuring and design revisions helps explain why the parcel has lingered in planning limbo even as other downtown projects have moved ahead.
What Comes Next
If the Historic and Design Review Commission signs off on Aug. 5, Laney would move toward final permitting and site work. The San Antonio Express-News reports that state and city filings point to a Jan. 1 construction start and a late-2028 completion window. Those dates depend on approvals, financing and final design decisions, and the developer has not yet publicly locked in unit counts or exterior materials.
Laney and project manager Tim Proctor did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
