SAN ANTONIO – The AT&T building on Hildebrand Avenue and Broadway is up for sale and its next-door neighbor, the University of the Incarnate Word, is interested in buying it.
UIW is landlocked by Highway 281, Brackenridge Park and Broadway, so when university officials found out the building was going on the market, they decided to submit a bid.
"The land around the university is not generally available for development. This is one of the rare opportunities," said Doug Endsley, UIW vice president of business and finance.
The 350,000-square-foot building was built in the 1950s by USAA. AT&T later moved into it before the telecom giant moved its headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas in 2008.
Endsley said the space would be ideal to help with a parking shortage at the university.
"If there's no space, then you are driving around for 30 minutes trying to find an empty spot," said UIW student Articka Dee.
Endsley said the building would be renovated to be used for administrative offices, classrooms and possibly residence halls. There are currently only 1,100 beds on campus.
The real estate company handling the sale of the AT&T building did not say how much the building is worth and UIW isn't saying how much it would offer for it.
Other investors are also interested in the building.
There's no deadline on when a decision will be made on the sale of the building.