More high-end apartments on the way at Tobin estate as second phase of construction starts – San Antonio Express-News

Construction has begun on the next phase of a high-end apartment complex at the late philanthropist Robert L.B. Tobins former Northeast Side estate.

Dallas developer Rosewood Property Co. last year completed 286 units, a pool and a clubhouse at 3310 Oakwell Court. Now its building another 311 units, seven townhomes and a 4,500-square-foot fitness center at the complex, dubbed The Tobin Estates Apartments.

Work is expected to wrap up in fall of 2023 and a third and final phase with around 355 units will begin after that, a spokesperson said.

With the outstanding success of our initial phase at Tobin Estates, phase two is designed to build upon that success by diversifying living options and finishes, Rick Perdue, president of Rosewood Property, said in a statement. By adding even more amenities to the existing ones, phase two will offer an extension to the existing outdoor oasis. We are excited to grow this great community in north San Antonio.

Rents for one-bedroom units generally start at $1,500, two-bedrooms at $1,800 and three-bedrooms at $2,450, the spokesperson said. The Tobin Estates are over 96 percent occupied.

On ExpressNews.com: Dallas developer finishes first phase of apartments at former Tobin estate

Tobins mansion on the property houses the Tobin Endowments offices.

Rosewood Property Co. recently started construction on the second phase of The Tobin Estates Apartments, as shown in renderings.

Tobin, heir to an aerial mapping company founded by his father, was a patron of arts and cultural institutions and a collector of paintings, designs for opera and ballet productions and other works.

His original estate included 500 acres. In the 1980s, he developed Oakwell Farms, a master-planned community with upscale homes, multifamily dwellings and office buildings.

Plans to sell and develop most of what was left of the estate in 2015 were opposed by many Oakwell Farms residents.

The Tobin Endowment had proposed working with developer David Weekley to build more than 400 detached townhomes but residents argued it would be too dense. Citing concerns about drainage and traffic problems, they also pushed back against a plan for 956 apartments but said they would support the complex if it reflected the neighborhoods character.

J. Bruce Bugg Jr., chairman and trustee of the Tobin Endowment, said developing the land would generate more property tax revenue and was in line with Tobins vision. The property was tax-exempt and selling it would generate more money for charity, he said.

Seventy-four people spoke against the apartments at a Planning Commission meeting in 2015. After three hours, commissioners gave the go-ahead to the development on a 7-1 vote.

On ExpressNews.com: Tobin Estate apartments approved despite protests from Oakwell Farms residents

The Tobin Endowment sold about 44 acres in 2016 for an undisclosed price to Rosewood, a subsidiary of The Rosewood Corp. that has also built two apartment complexes near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Loop 1604.

Some Oakwell Farms residents remain worried about traffic congestion worsening and flooding due to debris back-up, residents Beverly Alcott and Barbara Lowry said in February interviews.

Multifamily development is surging in the San Antonio area. There were 16,657 units under construction locally as of the third quarter, with work on more than 10,000 more expected to begin in the next year, according to a report by ApartmentTrends.com.

Investors are also buying existing complexes and vacant land, according to the report.

Average occupancy at local apartments was 95 percent for the three months ended in September. Average rent per month was $1,169, up from $1,008 in the third quarter of 2020 and from $1,018 in the third quarter of 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sales and construction are off the charts as everyone tries to get in on the action, the reports authors wrote. The current climate is reminiscent of the apartment boom that hit Austin in the 1990s, yet San Antonio has eased into this boom, as a steady city does.

madison.iszler@express-news.net

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More high-end apartments on the way at Tobin estate as second phase of construction starts - San Antonio Express-News