The Plaza de Armas building is a set of four historic buildings dating to the 1880s and 1890s that were combined into one larger office complex in 1979 totaling approximately 58,000 net square feet. The City of San Antonio purchased the building in 1987 and occupied it until October 2011 when the departments housed in the building were relocated in anticipation of the current improvements project. Ford, Powell & Carson Architects teamed with Byrne Construction Services for this Design-Build project; the goal of the improvements project was to renovate the Plaza de Armas building to house the Office of Cultural Affairs and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, which included the design of two television studios. The project was divided into two packages: (1) Demolition/Exterior Restoration; (2) a Building package, which includes the renovation of the interior. The exterior remained largely unchanged from its current appearance. However, a non-contributing modern addition on the west side of Building has been demolished. There is no remaining evidence of historic finishes in any of the four buildings; however, the major defining interior characteristic that does remain is the masonry party walls. These walls and wood floor joists are left exposed on the interior wherever possible to highlight the historic construction technology of the building.
The first floor houses a new 2,400 square foot multipurpose space curated by the Office of Culture Affairs and two 2,200 square foot televisions studios, one for Public Access and one for Government Access. The building also boasts a 2,500 square foot retail space, which the City plans to lease to a healthy living retailer.
The second floor houses the offices for the Office of Cultural Affairs and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. The second floor is organized so that the offices take full advantage of the windows on every elevation.
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