Windsor Park Mall
Former enclosed shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas, later redeveloped as an office campus and business park.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Windsor Park Mall was an enclosed shopping center on the northeast side of San Antonio, Texas, near Interstate 35 and Walzem Road. Developed by Melvin Simon and Associates, it opened in 1976 as San Antonio’s first shopping center with four major anchor stores. Its original anchors were Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Dillard’s, and Joske’s, while the center also contained more than one hundred smaller shops and services and a five-screen United Artists cinema. The mall was designed to serve the rapidly growing residential districts of northeast San Antonio and was promoted as the largest enclosed shopping center in the local market at the time. The property expanded and changed during the 1980s. A Mervyn’s store was added during an expansion that began in 1984, and Dillard’s acquired Joske’s in 1987. Part of the former Joske’s space was converted into a food court and additional retail area. Simon also undertook a major renovation, completed around 1990, that replaced the earlier interior with a Southwestern-inspired design featuring skylights, marble floors, fountains, and an octagonal stage. At its strongest point, the mall had roughly 135 tenants and very high occupancy. The center’s prospects weakened after Simon opened Rolling Oaks Mall nearby in 1988. During the 1990s, several violent incidents, including shootings and killings near the mall and its transit facilities, damaged Windsor Park’s reputation and contributed to declining customer traffic. Retail activity also shifted toward newer competitors, including The Forum at Olympia Parkway. The closure of Montgomery Ward in 2001, Dillard’s departure in 2002, and JCPenney’s relocation to Rolling Oaks Mall in 2004 left the property increasingly vacant. Government agencies, churches, social organizations, a nightclub, and a flea-market-style bazaar occupied some of the remaining space as conventional retail declined. Mervyn’s closed on August 31, 2005, and the mall ceased operating as a shopping center. The property subsequently entered a second phase. In 2007, Rackspace acquired the former mall and converted much of the structure into its corporate headquarters, known as “The Castle.” The redevelopment followed a change in municipal boundaries that placed the site within Windcrest, a separate suburb. Architect and urban planner Andrés Duany was involved in the transformation, which introduced offices, conference rooms, a fitness center, a coffee shop, art installations, a rainwater cistern, dual-flush toilets, and other adaptive-reuse features. The project received LEED Gold certification in 2009 and helped stimulate nearby retail, residential, and public-space development. The former mall also retained several visual elements of its retail past, including the neon food-court sign. Remote work reduced Rackspace’s need for a large headquarters. The company announced plans to leave the property in 2022 and later relocated to a smaller headquarters. In early 2024, Industrial Commercial Properties LLC acquired the building and the site became known as Windcrest International Business Park. Windsor Park Mall is therefore no longer an operating retail brand or shopping center, but its physical structure remains an example of large-scale mall-to-office and business-park redevelopment.
History
Melvin Simon and Associates announced Windsor Park Mall in January 1974 in response to residential growth in northeast San Antonio. The development was planned as a four-anchor enclosed shopping center, with Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, and Dillard’s identified early and Joske’s added as the fourth major anchor. JCPenney opened in June 1976, while Windsor Park, Dillard’s, and Joske’s opened to the public on July 29, 1976. Montgomery Ward had begun operating in October 1975. The center contained approximately 115 stores and services and a five-screen United Artists theater. The mall was designed by Gordon Sibeck and Associates of Dallas, who also worked on Simon’s later Ingram Park Mall. Windsor Park expanded in the mid-1980s with the addition of Mervyn’s, its first San Antonio location. After Dillard’s acquired Joske’s in 1987, Dillard’s returned much of the former Joske’s space to Simon. One level became a food court with twelve restaurant spaces and additional retail area, while Dillard’s retained another portion for home merchandise. Simon renovated the center between 1987 and 1990, introducing a Southwestern visual theme, skylights, marble flooring, fountains, and an octagonal stage. At the end of this period, the mall reported approximately 135 tenants and occupancy near the mid-90-percent range. The opening of Rolling Oaks Mall in July 1988, only a short distance away, created direct internal competition. Windsor Park’s decline accelerated in the 1990s as several violent incidents affected public perceptions. A fatal stabbing occurred at the VIA Metropolitan Transit park-and-ride facility in 1991. In 1992, a teenager attempting to shoot a rival gang member killed an uninvolved woman near the mall’s bus stop. A drive-by shooting damaged Montgomery Ward’s windows in 1994, and a later 1994 dispute inside the mall escalated into gunfire that killed a victim. The incidents contributed to the termination of VIA transit leases at Simon’s San Antonio malls and led to the opening of a Bexar County Sheriff’s Department annex at Windsor Park in 1995. Retail patterns also changed. Traffic moved away from the Walzem Road area toward newer destinations, particularly The Forum at Olympia Parkway. By 2001, Simon was considering nontraditional uses such as a small-business incubator. Montgomery Ward’s national closure in 2001 removed a major anchor. Dillard’s closed in January 2002, when reported occupancy had fallen to about 45 percent, and Simon sold the property to Whichard Real Estate of North Carolina. Whichard considered an outlet-center conversion and commissioned a redevelopment proposal, but the remaining department stores continued to leave. JCPenney moved to Rolling Oaks Mall in 2004, and Mervyn’s closed on August 31, 2005. The mall then ceased functioning as a conventional shopping center. A foreclosure notice had been served on Whichard by Bayview Loan Services in 2004. The vacant Montgomery Ward building was also used in 2005 as temporary shelter for people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Rackspace acquired the property in 2007 for use as a corporate headquarters. The transaction coincided with a municipal boundary adjustment that placed approximately 221 acres, including the former mall, within Windcrest. Rackspace hired Andrés Duany for the adaptive-reuse project, which transformed a substantial portion of the mall into offices and collaborative facilities. The renovated complex, called The Castle, included conference rooms, a two-story slide, a fitness center, coffee facilities, art installations, and repurposed gondolas from the former Sky Ride at Brackenridge Park. The preserved neon food-court sign connected the new office environment to the site’s retail history. Environmentally oriented improvements helped the property receive LEED Gold certification in 2009. By 2012, approximately 3,200 Rackspace employees worked at the site, and the campus influenced surrounding development. Nearby retail, multifamily housing, and public-space projects increasingly targeted the higher incomes associated with the technology workforce. Rackspace also created a neighborhood park and named an internal perimeter road Fanatical Place, reflecting its corporate value of “Fanatical Support,” with another road called Racker Road. The COVID-19-era shift toward remote work made the large headquarters increasingly underused. Rackspace announced an intention to vacate in 2022 and paid a lease-termination fee. Disagreement followed over whether the North East Independent School District was entitled to part of that payment under the 2007 arrangement, while San Antonio asserted that it was the sole beneficiary. In early 2024, Industrial Commercial Properties LLC purchased the building. The property was renamed Windcrest International Business Park, beginning a third phase as a commercial and industrial redevelopment rather than a shopping mall.
- 2024
Business-park conversion
[1]Industrial Commercial Properties LLC acquired the property, which became Windcrest International Business Park.
- 2022
Rackspace announces departure
[1]Rackspace announced plans to leave the underused headquarters and move to a smaller facility.
- 2009
LEED Gold certification
[1]The redeveloped office complex received LEED Gold certification.
- 2007
Rackspace acquisition
[1]Rackspace acquired the former mall and began converting it into The Castle corporate headquarters.
- 2005
Retail operations end
[1]JCPenney had moved away the prior year, and Mervyn’s closed on August 31, ending the mall’s retail era.
- 2002
Dillard’s closes and ownership changes
[1]Dillard’s departed, occupancy fell sharply, and Simon sold the property to Whichard Real Estate.
- 2001
Montgomery Ward closes
[1]The national closure of Montgomery Ward removed one of the center’s principal anchors.
- 1990
Major renovation completed
[1]A Southwestern-themed renovation introduced skylights, marble floors, fountains, and an octagonal stage.
- 1988
Rolling Oaks Mall opens
[1]Simon opened a competing northeast San Antonio mall approximately ten minutes away.
- 1987
Food-court conversion and renovation
[1]Dillard’s acquisition of Joske’s enabled Simon to convert part of the former anchor space into a food court and additional retail area.
Products and positioning
Originally positioned as a major enclosed regional shopping center serving northeast San Antonio; later repositioned as a corporate office campus and, from 2024, a business park.
Retail property · 1976
Enclosed shopping center
The original Windsor Park Mall offered a large climate-controlled retail environment with department-store anchors, specialty shops, services, dining, and a multiplex-style five-screen United Artists cinema. It was built to serve northeast San Antonio’s growing residential population and was initially differentiated by its four-anchor configuration.
Corporate office campus · 2007
The Castle
The Castle was Rackspace’s adaptive-reuse headquarters in the former mall structure. Its design retained selected mall elements while adding offices, conference rooms, employee amenities, environmental systems, art installations, and unusual features such as a large slide and repurposed aerial gondolas.
Business park · 2024
Windcrest International Business Park
Following the 2024 sale to Industrial Commercial Properties LLC, the former mall and office campus were repositioned as Windcrest International Business Park. The new identity reflects a commercial and industrial property strategy rather than consumer retail.
Brand decisions
2024
Sell property for business-park redevelopmentM&ABackground
Rackspace no longer required the large office campus after its headquarters downsizing.
Action taken
Industrial Commercial Properties LLC acquired the building and adopted the Windcrest International Business Park name.
Aftermath
The site entered a new commercial-property phase after the closure of the mall and the end of Rackspace’s occupancy.
2022
Downsize headquarters footprintStrategyBackground
The spread of remote work left much of Rackspace’s former mall headquarters underused.
Action taken
Rackspace announced that it would vacate the property and move to a smaller headquarters, paying a lease-termination fee.
Aftermath
The departure preceded the 2024 sale and conversion of the property into Windcrest International Business Park.
Lease termination fee. 9000000 (2022)
2007
Acquire and repurpose the former mallM&ABackground
Rackspace needed substantially more headquarters space as it expanded and the former shopping center had become largely vacant.
Action taken
Rackspace acquired the property and converted it into The Castle, a large corporate office campus.
Aftermath
The redevelopment brought thousands of employees to the site, received LEED Gold certification, and stimulated surrounding retail, housing, and public-space investment.
Purchase price. 27000000 (2007)
1987
Convert former Joske’s space into a food courtStrategyBackground
After Dillard’s acquired Joske’s, it chose to return part of the former anchor space to the mall owner rather than continue using all of it for department-store retail.
Action taken
Simon converted an upper level into a food court with space for twelve restaurants and added retail area while Dillard’s retained a portion for home merchandise.
Aftermath
The project broadened the mall’s dining offer and formed part of a wider renovation undertaken before and after the opening of nearby Rolling Oaks Mall.
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