Austin-based developer buys Cowboys Dancehall at auction; renovations planned
The sale by auction of Cowboys Dancehall to an Austin-based developer is final after a lengthy bankruptcy case.
Austin-based Heiser Development Corp. closed on the property this month, paying $6.5 million, according to county records. The amount is significantly lower than the $9.75 million recorded in court records earlier this year and the property’s assessed value of $9.1 million by the Bexar County Appraisal District.
The property’s former owner, Cowboys Far West, Ltd., filed for bankruptcy in late 2016.
The 70,000-square-foot event space at 3030 NE Loop 410 features two dance floors, a mechanical bull and a 20,000-square-foot indoor rodeo arena. It is known for hosting concerts, dance nights and other events, including the popular Cowboy Breakfast, which kicks off the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
While the new owners plan to convert the property into something else, it will remain a dance hall for now.
A local entity called SA Club Entertainment LLC, headed by Cowboys Dance Hall President Mike Murphy, has signed a 15-year lease on the property, said Bradfield Heiser, vice president of acquisitions and capital markets at Heiser Development. Heiser said the group plans to give the property a face-lift, which will include getting rid of the rodeo area in favor of an expanded dance floor.
Scott Murphy, the new entity’s chief of operations, said Monday that the renovations to the rodeo side of the building won’t interfere with the arena and dance hall, which will stay open throughout construction. After construction is finished, the rodeo side will become the new dance hall while the concert hall will stay the same. The Murphys, who also own a club in Dallas called Cowboys Red River, plan to rename each side of the new San Antonio venue, suggesting a name like “Red River Dance Hall.” However, no name has been finalized.
Murphy said the dance hall will continue to operate Wednesday through Saturday while more concerts are being planned for the music venue, to include more country acts, Norteño acts and even rock shows. And as for the Cowboy Breakfast? That’s sticking around too.
“We’ve been keeping them in the loop and actually just finalized our commitment to host in 2020,” Murphy said.
So despite the new ownership, things won’t be changing much, at least for now. Heiser said his company will reevaluate the property in 10 to 15 years to determine what to do with it next.
Though it’s early, Heiser is considering multiple development ideas, including mixed-use, multifamily, self-storage, retail pads, office or even a hotel. The company was recently involved in developing and acquiring several multifamily properties in Austin and San Antonio, and it has developed self-storage, office and retail properties in the past. Earlier this year, the company started work on a 320-unit apartment complex of San Antonio’s Far West Side.