San Antonio’s iconic Tower Life building is adopting a new look. Developers Ed Cross, Alamo Capital Partners, McCombs Enterprises, and J. Jeffers & Co. are combining their efforts to convert the 95-year-old office into a mixed-income apartment tower. Crews have begun the work to convert the office building into a 244-unit residential tower with food and beverage spaces at street level and along the River Walk. On the outside, additional doors and windows will be installed throughout the building to accommodate incoming tenants. The first six floors of the building where a Sears store was located have high ceilings and will be turned into urban loft apartments.

The redevelopment is expected to take 20 months. Alamo System Industries is the general contractor.

Designed by architect Atlee B. Ayres and built just before the Great Depression, the Gothic Revival building was the tallest in San Antonio until the Tower of the Americas was built in 1968.