On eve of Midtown TIRZ vote, Mayor Jones underscores opposition to 19-year extension

City Council will vote on extending the Midtown TIRZ to 2060, essentially foregoing property tax dollars in that area in order for specific projects to be funded.

SAN ANTONIO — A day before San Antonio City Council is set to vote on extending the Midtown TIRZ by nearly 20 years — prolonging the timeline during which property tax growth in that area would go to specific projects — Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones reiterated her opposition. 

“It’s done what it needs to do,” Jones said at a Wednesday evening town hall on the northeast side. 

This story continues below.

TIRZ zones, or Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones, are one of the tools the city uses to fund major projects and redevelopment. When a zone is established, a property tax baseline is established, and growth in property tax dollars is collected over time and set aside for those projects. 

The Midtown TIRZ was initially established in 2008; it covers northern areas of downtown and extends across Interstate 35 to the north. 

Currently set to expire in 2041, the Midtown TIRZ — one of nine currently active in San Antonio — covers attractions like the Botanical Gardens, the San Antonio Zoo and the Pearl, playing a part in funding improvements at each to the tune of millions of dollars. 

According to city estimates, the Midtown TIRZ is expected to capture $320.5 million by 2041, along with nearly $2.7 million more in interest. Those are property tax dollars that would otherwise have gone to the city’s General Fund to pay for daily services. 

Jones said the TIRZ zones have outlived their intended purpose because the area they cover is no longer “blighted.” On Thursday, City Council will vote to extend it to at least 2060. 

The zone is expected to collect another $580 million in specific-use dollars from 2042 to 2060, if the extension is approved. 

“When we talk about being the third-poorest mayor city in he country, if we don’t want that, we’ve got to do things a little bit different,” Jones said. “That means saying no to the Midtown TIRZ and having that money come back into the General Fund.”

The mayor’s opposition comes as San Antonio leaders continue working to close a budget deficit projected to reach $157.7 million by 2028. On the table: a property tax increase, hundreds of new fees and 101 city employee layoffs or cut positions. 

The Midtown TIRZ will be central to another Thursday vote. Leaders will vote on whether or not to use $60 million in TIRZ funds to purchase a roughly 13-acre parcel of land along Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard that will serve as the site of the new $1.2 billion Spurs arena. 

The arena site sits outside the TIRZ boundaries. 

“When you’re funding an arena, when you’re funding an animal hospital at the zoo, that’s not what that is supposed to do,” Jones said. 

A divided Midtown TIRZ Board voted 7-4 last Friday to authorize using $60 million in funds to buy the arena site, currently owned by the University of Texas system. 

According to city documents, the TIRZ was created explicitly in order to “promote development and revitalization activities within the TIRZ.”

Council is also being asked to approve up to $10 million in funding allocations each for the zoo, botanical garden and Brackenridge Park Conservancy. The money would be used to create a new zoo realm and animal hospital; develop a horticulture campus at the garden; and modernize the Sunken Gardens at Brackenridge.