Alamo Heights neighbors are pushing back against a planned five-story apartment complex that would rise directly across the street from homes along Arcadia Place, Grandview Place and Cleveland Court, arguing the 70-foot structure blows past the city's 35-foot height limit and threatens to cast long shadows over their properties. The Alamo Heights City Council is scheduled to take up the matter at a 5:30 p.m. meeting Monday, deciding whether to grant a Special Use Permit that would let the building rise nearly double the standard three-story cap.
The project, known as Grove Place, would replace the 106-unit Treehouse Apartments and the adjacent, closed site of St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church school with a 300-unit Class A community, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. Developer Embrey Partners is targeting construction to begin in the first quarter of 2027 at the 101 Arcadia Place site, which sits just off Broadway. Landowner Ridgemont Properties, which owns and manages multiple apartment properties in Alamo Heights, brought the opportunity to Embrey in 2025, and Embrey is pursuing the project independently rather than as a formal joint venture.
As reported by KSAT 12, Casey Thomas, who said she has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, wants the developer to consider a shorter building and says residents want the project completed within city code. Betty Gerlach, another neighbor, said the proposed building could block her view of the sky. Residents say the building's height remains their primary concern heading into the council meeting, and some said their voices were not being heard ahead of the vote.
A Legal Path Built for Exceptions
Under the Alamo Heights Code of Ordinances, standard multi-family building heights are capped at 35 feet or three stories, but Section 3-82 authorizes the City Council to grant Special Use Permits for multi-family buildings exceeding two and a half stories following review by the Planning and Zoning Commission, according to the City of Alamo Heights. The Planning and Zoning Commission has already recommended approval of the Special Use Permit, conditioned on the project addressing neighbor concerns. That conditional structure means the permit itself is tied to whatever concessions Embrey has offered, rather than a blanket approval.
Architectural firm Lake|Flato is serving as Grove Place's design architect, and the site plan incorporates 50 public parking spaces intended to help ease the street parking congestion that has become a flashpoint along Broadway, per Capdex. In a statement to KSAT 12, Embrey Partners said it has listened to neighbors and made meaningful design changes, and that the proposed design is necessary to make the project economically viable. Residents, for their part, have said they have been willing to give up concessions, though the station's report indicates height remains the sticking point that hasn't been resolved.
Height(s) Matters, Say Longtime Homeowners
Opposing residents have organized a coordinated yard-sign campaign reading “Height(s) Matters. Stick to the Code,” according to the San Antonio Express-News. The paper reports that homes along adjacent Arcadia Place include structures built in the late 19th century, and some Alamo Heights homes have existed for more than a century, giving the shadow and sunlight concerns — including impacts on home solar panel installations — added weight among longtime owners. Neighbors argue that granting the height waiver would set a precedent that erodes the very code meant to protect the neighborhood's scale.
This isn't the first time Ridgemont Properties has run into resistance from Alamo Heights neighbors. The Alamo Heights Board of Adjustment denied zoning variances in 2022 for a separate, 35-unit apartment project Ridgemont proposed on Katherine Court, after residents objected over unit density and height, the Express-News reported at the time. Neighbors on Katherine Court deployed yard signs and organized opposition in a campaign that echoes the current fight over Grove Place.
An Enclave Wrestling With Its Own Rules
Both Embrey and Ridgemont have deep roots in Alamo Heights rather than arriving as outside developers. Embrey Partners maintains its corporate headquarters inside the city at 7600 Broadway, a 216-unit mixed-use development the company completed in 2022, and executives have cited that track record when presenting to council. The debate is unfolding in a city of roughly 7,500 residents with a median household income of $183,088 and a median home value of $779,400, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates — an affluent, independent enclave surrounded by San Antonio where residents have repeatedly organized to protect neighborhood character. Alamo Heights preservation advocates have separately pushed for historic district designations to prevent home teardowns, a pattern Hoodline previously reported on when a 1922 home faced demolition.
Residents have said they welcome new development in the area, but the fight over Grove Place underscores how tightly the city's zoning code and its self-image are intertwined. Whether the council imposes height reductions as a condition of approval, or whether opposing residents pursue formal legal appeals if the Special Use Permit passes, remains unresolved ahead of Monday's meeting.
