Local developer planning 10-story upscale apartments on the River Walk

Local developer Keller Henderson plans to build a 10-story upscale apartment building along the River Walk. Local developer Keller Henderson plans to build a 10-story upscale apartment building along the River Walk. Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 155 Caption Close Local developer planning 10-story upscale apartments on the River Walk 1 / 155 Back to Gallery

Local developer Keller Henderson plans to demolish a row of buildings on East Commerce Street to build a 10-story upscale apartment building along the River Walk.

The Historic and Design Review Commission will vote Wednesday on the project, named "The Floodgate" after a nearby bridge and floodgate over the river. It will have seven floors of residential space and three of retail space, including restaurant space on the River Walk, according to HDRC documents.

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The project would remake a grungy stretch of East Commerce close to City Hall that houses a hot dog shop, a payday lender, a convenience store and a vacant storefront. A few doors down, Esquire Tavern owner Chris Hill plans to build a 24-story Canopy by Hilton hotel.

The building's most distinctive feature is a passageway running through it, connecting East Commerce and the River Walk, with retail space on the sides. It will also have an automated parking system, according to the HDRC documents.

Two of the buildings targeted for demolition are designated as historic landmarks, but their original facades were replaced in the '50s and '60s, and they've fallen into such disrepair that they're no longer commercially viable, Henderson said in a letter to the HDRC.

HDRC staff called the project "very attractive" and recommended giving it conceptual approval, but said that a stone wall on the site should be incorporated into the new building. Henderson will also need permission from the city arborist to remove a fig tree growing from the wall.