The six-building Scobey complex and the surrounding Cattleman Square neighborhood — which are both full of history but marred by urban blight — could be due for a revival as a developer plans to turn the complex into a mixed-use project.

A developer is under contract to buy the 2.6-acre, 270,000-square-foot complex at 301 N. Medina St. on the near West Side, according to its current owner, Ed Cross, who is CEO of Cushman & Wakefield affiliate San Antonio Commercial Advisors. He declined to name the developer at this time.

Cross is asking the city to rezone the industrial-zoned complex, and the city Zoning Commission is expected to consider the request at its June 21 meeting.

If it is built, the project could be a catalyst for the Cattleman Square area, which doesn’t have much of a residential presence apart from the Haven for Hope homeless shelter; it is one of the few parts of central San Antonio without a registered neighborhood association, according to the city’s website.

The area around the Scobey is dominated by government buildings such as the Bexar Appraisal District headquarters and the hulking Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

The Cattleman Square area is largely derelict, scarred by vacant lots, abandoned industrial buildings, and empty beer and liquor bottles, but it has seen major improvements in recent years. The Scobey is less than a block away from VIA’s $35 million new Centro Plaza transfer hub and its executive offices in the recently renovated International & Great Northern Railroad depot, now known as “the Grand.” It’s also a few blocks north of UTSA’s downtown campus and a little more than half a mile from the newly built Peanut Factory Lofts on South Frio Street.

With the help of a county economic development grant, local firm 210 Developers is building a 242-unit apartment building named Vitré at the crossing of West Commerce Street and Pecos-La Trinidad, a few blocks east of Scobey. The first residents are expected to move in within 14 to 16 months, said Mark Tolley, a partner at the firm. 210 Developers also built the Peanut Factory Lofts.

“It’s obviously a very transitional neighborhood. It has fantastic historical fabric,” Tolley said of Cattleman Square. “We are very encouraged by the steps that have been taken in the area … every step is incremental when you’re looking at revitalization of areas like this.”

The neighborhood, which offers great views of San Antonio’s skyline, is appealing to county employees, UTSA students and those seeking an urban lifestyle who are willing to take the risk of moving to a changing area, Tolley said.

The Scobey, which the city has declared a historic landmark, was appraised for a total of $1.1 million this year, according to the Bexar Appraisal District.

The developer eyeing the Scobey could benefit from a Federal Transit Administration program to create mixed-use developments around transit stations. Last month, San Antonio was selected to receive assistance from the administration, and local officials plan to use it to revitalize the area around Centro Plaza.

The Scobey dates to about 1940, according to county property records, but one of the buildings has a cornerstone indicating it was built in 1913. It was the hub of a transportation and logistics company until the early ’70s, according to the Express-News archives. Cross bought it in 1999 as an investment, he said in a phone interview.

When SAWS decided to move its headquarters around 2003, Cross proposed the Scobey as a potential site, but SAWS instead bought the former headquarters of Valero Corp. near Brackenridge Park. Seven or eight years ago, he proposed the site as a new headquarters for the San Antonio Police Department, but the department instead chose a nearby site on Santa Rosa Avenue.

Finally, Cross put the property on the market about a year ago because he is shifting his focus to developing the River North area, he said.

The western part of downtown, across Interstate 10 from Cattleman Square, also has potential for redevelopment. The city and county have put more than 8 acres of prime real estate on the market in the hope they will be used for a mix of businesses and residential dwellings. The $175 million San Pedro Creek revitalization project also is expected to spur development there.