Nonprofit journalism for an informed community

For nearly two years, motorists headed into downtown on U.S. Highway 281 have had unobstructed views of a new stucco and steel tower rising higher on the eastward skyline.

Set for completion this fall, the Jefferson Bank headquarters building stands at 13 stories, and with floor-to-ceiling windows on every level, it offers sweeping views of both the highway bend and a miles-long stretch of Broadway Street.

Parts of Fort Sam Houston and the greens at Brackenridge Golf Course are visible along with the Tower of Americas and much of downtown. The Pearl and a burgeoning banking center — Credit Human and Bank of America are newly situated one block over — are also within sight.

The Pearl in particular was part of the draw for Jefferson Bank leaders in choosing the site for its new headquarters, said Larry Ratcliff, senior vice president and chief information officer at Jefferson Bank who is overseeing the project. 

“We want to get the best talent, so where do those folks want to be?” he said. “The Pearl is a driving force.”

The location at 1900 Broadway, between Josephine and Grayson streets, is also central for the bank’s customers and its 240-member workforce, which is currently based in a main office on North Loop 410 and in bank branches and offices across town. 

“It brings us together,” Ratcliff said of the new headquarters. “For the last 30 years that I’ve been here, we’ve grown and put operation departments where we had space.”

Jefferson Bank began in 1946 as Jefferson State Bank, with its original location at 1904 Fredericksburg Rd. near Beacon Hill. Now it operates 11 financial centers in San Antonio, Boerne and New Braunfels with $2.8 billion in assets and $2.6 billion in total deposits, according to recent filings. 

CEO Danny Butler was named to lead Jefferson Bank in 2010, with Paul McSween III serving as president and Steve Lewis as chairman of the board. Lewis is the son of the bank’s first chairman and CEO, A.J. “Jack” Lewis.

The bank began work on the new headquarters building in November 2020. The cost of the project was estimated at $86.2 million, according to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Ratcliff expects to start moving employees into the new headquarters at the end of November. “We’ve been around for 75 years and this is the biggest thing we’ve done so, they’re really excited about it,” Ratcliff said. 

Jefferson Bank will occupy 118,000 square feet of the building on levels 7 to 10 as well as partial space in the lobby for a customer banking center. The remaining Class A office space will be available for lease; at least one tenant is already assigned to the 11th and 12th floors — law firm Jackson Walker.

The building, which also has five levels of parking, will have covered sidewalks along Broadway and space at street level for restaurants and retail stores. The sushi restaurant Nineteen Hayaku will open in a space near Grayson Street, Ratcliff said. 

The building will have a fitness center and lounge and also will feature conference suites, “huddle rooms” and a centralized “work cafe” where bank employees can gather for breaks and team meetings.

The Dallas-based firm HKS is the architect of record on the project and the San Antonio office of global architecture firm Gensler provided interior design plans. 

The general contractor is Joeris, a firm that’s also working on several other developments in the Pearl, including transforming the former Samuels Glass warehouse into the market of shops and restaurants and the Pearl Stables event space into a performing arts venue. 

CEO Gary Joeris said the most challenging part of any construction project lately is finding enough skilled workers. Workers are being lured to Austin, where jobs are plentiful and the pay is sometimes better, he said. Material delivery is often delayed, forcing contractors to work overtime to finish projects on time. “The workforce just seems to be stressed,” he said. 

But the Jefferson Bank project is expected to be completed on schedule. Elevators and heating and air conditioning units are installed. Carpet has been laid on several floors and tile is going up in bathrooms. 

On a recent Wednesday, crews were forming concrete for the curbs and sidewalks amid a steady stream of cars passing through Josephine Street. 

“It’s just great to be in the area, and this is just such a beautiful project,” Joeris said. “What’s not to be proud of to be associated with this and Jefferson Bank? … it’s a long, old-time San Antonio, solid business.”

Shari Biediger is the development beat reporter for the San Antonio Report. More by Shari Biediger