President POV
No matter where we go in San Antonio this summer, we are almost guaranteed to encounter construction of some sort. While it may seem like an inconvenience to some, I view it as a sign of the progress we are making, together. Growth cannot happen without change. We must make way for what is coming, especially in our urban core.
Downtown is the heart of SATX. Our partners at the City of San Antonio, Centro San Antonio and Visit San Antonio have been strategic in their vision for growing the central business district, so that it remains a place for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. This is evident in the ongoing work to improve downtown assets, including Hemisfair’s newly opened Civic Park and plans for a new office development and hotel. The iconic Alamo is also undergoing a master redevelopment plan to preserve the Texas landmark. Meanwhile, Weston Urban is nearing the completion of 300 Main, a 354-unit Class AA multifamily development and downtown’s first residential high-rise. And work will soon start to convert the Tower Life Building into apartments right along the San Antonio Riverwalk.
At the same time, downtown is seeing a resurgence in its office occupancy rate. According to the most recent data available from Centro, more than 160,400 square feet of office space is either under construction or proposed for the downtown district. Amegy Bank is among the newer downtown tenants after announcing the relocation of its Central Texas headquarters. A recent CoStar report says San Antonio is poised to lead the nation in office rent growth over the next four years. Based on what we see in our project pipeline, we agree with the CoStar assessment.
We’re seeing the office growth trend reflected in our projects as well. So far this year, we have won 16 deals, 56% of which are office projects. Those projects will create 730 new high-wage jobs for our San Antonio region. Moreover, more than half of the projects in our pipeline are office projects. These prospective company expansions represent the cybersecurity, information technology, and professional and financial services sectors. I expect that by the end of Q3, we will have several additional office projects to announce that will add several thousand jobs to the region.
These office projects complement the recent major industrial project announcements. Following a competitive site selection process, Toyota is reaffirming its commitment to the San Antonio region with a $531 million investment that will add approximately 500,000 square feet to its manufacturing facility on the city’s south side to produce drivetrains. The investment by Toyota will create more than 400 new jobs for our neighbors. This is in addition to the 1,500+ jobs that will be created by JCB, which recently broke ground on its manufacturing plant.
Companies of all sizes, including the world’s largest and best-known brands, are choosing San Antonio because our value proposition is resonating with them. It is the work we are doing collectively to invest in our people and our place that has positioned our region to be competitive for job producing investments. We are leading in workforce development programs, while also ensuring we have the infrastructure businesses require to succeed here.
As you go about your day-to-day and see the construction, know that what you’re seeing is growth—growth we are achieving together.
Greater Together,
Jenna Saucedo-Herrera
Regional Updates
Investor Spotlight: Caterpillar
Caterpillar has been part of this region since 2003 when they opened their machining operation on the northeast side of San Antonio. Soon after, they expanded to include an engine production facility in Seguin and a second machining operation in Schertz. They currently have over 2,200 employees in the Greater San Antonio region who are committed to building a more sustainable world.
Regional Partner Highlight: Von Ormy
Von Ormy is a small town of approximately 1300 in southwest Bexar County along Interstate 35 and the Medina River. The community is named for Count Norbert von Ormay, an Austrian nobleman who lived in the area in the mid-1880s. The town was previously known as Medina Crossing and was renamed “Von Ormy” by postmaster Branson Bywater in 1886.
Toyota's Two Decades of Growth in SATX
Two decades after selecting San Antonio as the site to build its popular Tundra pickup truck, Toyota is once again investing in San Antonio. The automaker will spend more than $531 million to expand its manufacturing facility on the city’s south side. Since the first Tundra rolled off the assembly line in 2006, Toyota has grown to employ more than 3,800 San Antonians with thousands more employed by its suppliers. Toyota settled on San Antoino, after a competitive selection process, because the company knows we—the SATX community—can and will support its continued success.
In the News
San Antonio airport launches three new nonstop routes, celebrates record-breaking passengers: Three new nonstop routes are taking flight from the San Antonio International Airport this month. The airport officially added its eighth international destination Saturday with the launch of its service to Torreón, Mexico. The Viva Aerobus service is available on Tuesdays and Saturdays, making San Antonio one of just two U.S. cities to offer nonstop flights to Torreón.
Look inside the ‘world’s largest indoor organic farm’ — right here in San Antonio: A new high-tech factory that recently opened at Brooks is a feast for the senses. The Soli Organic facility looks and smells like a produce farm — because it is. But the farm is behind closed doors where high-tech machines and proprietary systems do all the seeding, feeding, conveying and harvesting, the climate is controlled and water use minimized. The company chose San Antonio to expand to be closer to its customers, including grocers such as H-E-B, Walmart, Tom Thumb and Whole Foods.
Alamo Colleges, A&M-San Antonio blaze a tuition-free trail to a four-year degree: Alamo Colleges District officials announced a partnership with Texas A&M University-San Antonio as their newest tool to break racial and economic barriers to higher education, pledging to open an affordable “pathway to the middle class.” Under the Promise to Promise Partnership, students attending the district’s five colleges or high school dual enrollment programs through its five-year-old AlamoPROMISE initiative can transfer to TAMU-SA’s Jaguar Promise, extending a tuition-free route to a four-year bachelor’s degree. Alamo Colleges typically transfers about 2,000 students annually to A&M-San Antonio.
Tech job postings surge by 27,000 in May: After more than a year of mass layoffs led by some of the nation's largest employers, a new report suggests the tech job market is starting to rebound. New job postings for tech occupations reached 209,000 in May – an increase of nearly 27,000 from April and the highest total since June 2023. The report also highlighted the metropolitan markets with the biggest change in job postings. One of those markets was San Antonio – CompTIA reported 1,527 total tech job postings in the San Antonio metro area in May, a 28% increase from April.
Air Force is considering Port San Antonio's unique proposal to build new cyber headquarters: As the Air Force reviews a $1 billion proposal to move the service’s main cyber headquarters to Port San Antonio, it’s taking interim steps to relocate some of its elements from crumbling infrastructure at Joint Base San Antonio. Their destination: Port San Antonio. The temporary moves come as officials including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn are talking up the Port’s audacious pitch to build a high-tech campus to replace the aging mishmash of buildings that house the 16th Air Force — an idea built on a type of services agreement not previously used for such projects.
SwRI breaks ground on hypersonic propulsion research facility: Local officials and Southwest Research Institute leaders broke ground on a facility to study the next generation of aerospace engines that can travel faster than five times the speed of sound. The 36,600-square-foot facility — called the Center for Accelerating Materials and Processes, or CAMP — will initially focus on “demonstrating faster, more efficient techniques for manufacturing high-speed propulsion systems,” SwRI said. The building, on the nonprofit research organization’s West Side campus, will help speed production of such systems by helping scientists learn how to do it better, cheaper and faster to meet a growing demand across defense, air travel, delivery and transportation industries.
H-E-B buys office, retail building in Southtown area from downtown developer: H-E-B has purchased an office and retail building about a block away from its headquarters and South Flores Market grocery store, expanding its footprint in the Southtown area. The San Antonio grocer bought the circa-1960 building at South Santa Rosa Avenue and El Paso Street in mid-June. H-E-B said it’s using part of the property for corporate offices. H-E-B owns roughly 31 acres in the area, including its Arsenal headquarters, parking lots and South Flores Market store and gas station, real estate records show.
SA military’s economic impact tops $50B: Texas’ 14 military installations contributed $151.2 billion to the state economy in 2023, with San Antonio being the largest driver of that activity. More than $55 billion — over a third of Texas’ total military economic impact — was tied to Joint Base San Antonio, according to a new study conducted by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Since 2019, Joint Base San Antonio’s contribution has increased 33%. Among the factors contributing to that economic growth at JBSA are additional military positions in the areas of aviation, cybersecurity and health care. The military accounts for approximately 242,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Alamo City. Local leaders have worked with federal officials to protect those jobs.