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Brooks Development Authority leaders are eyeing sites within a 3-mile radius of the former Air Force base.<\/p>\n
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In an effort to draw more employers to San Antonio\u2019s Southeast Side, the Brooks Development Authority is taking control of a big piece of land outside the boundaries of the former Air Force Base it is redeveloping.<\/p>\n
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The San Antonio River Authority is giving 243 vacant acres south of Loop 410 along Southton Road to the development authority, which will spearhead\u00a0platting and installing utilities and roads on the property.<\/p>\n
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The two organizations\u2019 leaders and\u00a0Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai described the transaction as part of a broader plan to prepare large swaths of land in San Antonio for companies searching for locations for major facilities. They said the size of the Southton property and its proximity to highways, railroad tracks and a\u00a0proposed east-west freeway known as the South Texas Parkway<\/a> could make it appealing to employers.<\/p>\n Brooks CEO Leo Gomez said the deal could serve as a pilot program for what the development authority could do with other large pieces of land.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can do it with this property, we can do it with others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n RELATED: IEM picks San Antonio for $200M plant expected to create 3,000 jobs at Brooks<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The transaction marks a major expansion for the development authority, which was created in 2002 to turn the de-commissioned, 1,308-acre Brooks base into a business park.\u00a0<\/p>\n The base has attracted\u00a0a mix of apartments, single-family houses, restaurants, stores, schools, trails, a hospital, a hotel and manufacturing facilities \u2014 an island of sorts on the city\u2019s South Side, which has historically struggled to lure business investment and public amenities.<\/p>\n The development authority has landed companies in part because its land is exempt from property taxes, it is designated as a federal opportunity zone and it has a tax increment reinvestment zone. More than 1,400 people live at Brooks and over 3,000 people work there, with thousands more projected to arrive after future housing and facilities open. Property values in the area have soared.<\/p>\n About 300 acres of the original footprint is undeveloped, Gomez said. The development authority\u2019s leaders started eyeing projects outside the boundaries several years ago to position it as a bigger force for development in the area, Gomez said. They consider sites within 3 miles of Brooks as their focus.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The organization acquired 55 acres near San Antonio State Hospital in 2019. On a portion of the land, SAMMinistries is developing affordable housing and supportive services for chronically homeless people.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brooks also has partnered with developer NRP Group on two deals to build tax-exempt, mixed-income apartments.<\/p>\n About three years ago, the development authority purchased 158 acres of a shuttered golf course and is leasing the land to Arboretum San Antonio, which plans to turn it into a public space showcasing a variety of trees and plants<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gomez said the deal with the river authority stemmed from conversations with Sakai about having sites ready to go for companies wanting to build major facilities, which could give San Antonio a boost in competing with other cities for projects. They dubbed the effort \u201cProject Oso,\u201d which is \u201cbear\u201d in Spanish, because Gomez originally thought the Southton property was owned by the county.<\/p>\n