A ground-breaking high-rise residential development in San Antonio is counting on AT&T’s new U-verse bundling voice, data and video service to help attract and retain upscale urban dwellers.

San Antonio developer Ed Cross said The Vistana, a 14-floor, 530,000 square foot, art deco building being constructed at 100 North Santa Rosa Street will be that city’s first major downtown residential complex, featuring 30,000 square feet of retail on the first floor, a four-floor parking garage with over 450 spaces, and 246 market rate rental apartments above.

It will also feature AT&T U-verse service because Cross is convinced it is a better option for his future tenants than the alternative Time Warner Cable service.

“We did look at our options,” Cross said in an interview Wednesday. “Time Warner, who is the local cable TV provider, rolled out the big guns and they tried to come in with a package. They are the dominant carrier in multi-family projects with about 90% penetration range in San Antonio and they have a combined product. We felt like the AT&T product was superior technology, with more pieces to it. We perceive our potential tenants as being technically savvy people The portfolio, the package of things that AT&T offered was superior to Time Warner.”

Specifically, Cross said, AT&T’s package came with a Cingular Wireless option, WiFi coverage for the building and a package of business services for Cross’s management operation that came from AT&T’s business sales side. In addition, AT&T is running fiber optic cable directly to the building during its construction phase.

“They offer WiFi in our public areas,” he said. “We are going to have an amenity deck on the sixth floor that includes a pool, a party room and a business center. AT&T is helping us with that. The techno-geek who wants to take his laptop down to the pool to work can do that. Also, they are doing some business services for our management and leasing office, Their business side is different from residential side but it was a comprehensive package.”

Cross was particularly concerned that the service be future-proofed – when the building opens 18 months from now, he didn’t want to be saddled with out-of-date technology.

The telecom world “is changing pretty darn quick, so I wanted them to bring the fattest cable possible to the building,” Cross said. “AT&T is pulling fiber to the building Time Warner Cable was bringing cable lines.”

The Vistana may be part of a new trend for San Antonio, which has a downtown area rich in tourist attractions but lacking residential space.

“San Antonio is behind other major cities in having downtown residential space,” said Cross, who has been researching New York, Chicago and other major cities where there is a boom in construction of residential space in the commercial downtown districts. “We think it’s time for this here.”

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