Nearly 55% of Bexar County\u2019s 173,000 veterans are over the age of 55. For many of them, the closest place to find state-supported long-term care is across county lines in Floresville. On Tuesday, county commissioners took the first step toward changing that.<\/p>\n
Commissioners voted unanimously to begin the process of donating 27 acres of county-owned land near the Dominguez State Jail on the Southwest Side to the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) for construction of a Texas State Veterans Home. The site, located near Loop 1604 and Highway 90, would bring the first state-operated veterans facility of its kind to the county.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state currently has ten veterans homes across the state,\u201d said Keith W. Wilson, executive director of the Bexar County Department of Military and Veteran Services. \u201cWhat we wanted to do is bring one to Bexar County that would better serve our community \u2014 the veterans and families that make us who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vote allows the county to move forward with donating the land, but the project is still in its early stages. The VLB will now begin state-funded environmental studies and site surveys to confirm the suitability of the property for construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once that work is completed, the state will submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in April 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the VA approves the proposal, federal funding would cover 65% of construction costs and the land board would fund the remaining 35% while operating and owning the facility. The project would not require any additional local tax dollars, with the county\u2019s only contribution being the donated land.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even with federal approval, construction wouldn\u2019t start right away and the facility may not be open until the end of the decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got the county working with the state working with the federal government, so nothing happens quickly, but we\u2019ve got the right momentum and support here,\u201d Wilson said.\u201d They estimate between three and four years, once it\u2019s approved for funding for all the different pieces to actually get built and ready to run.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Bexar_Veterans_Keith_Willson_Albert_Veto_Moreno_President_Edgewood_Veterans_district_Commisoners_Cou.jpeg\")
Bexar County Department of Military and Veteran Services Director Keith W. Wilson shakes hands with representatives of the Edgewood District Veterans Association after commissioners approved the land donation Tuesday at Bexar County Commissioners Court. Credit: Diego Medel \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
The ten existing veterans homes operated by the state are all running at near full capacity, with an average daily occupancy of about 96.5% in fiscal year 2025. That demand, Dale said, has pushed the state to look for opportunities to expand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also in talks right now with Nueces County,\u201d Dale said. \u201cI would say they\u2019re pretty advanced \u2014 they\u2019re looking for land as well. But we don\u2019t view this as a competition. We\u2019ve got the capacity right now at the Veterans Land Board to build two right away if we had two communities step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under state law, the Veterans Land Board cannot purchase land for new facilities \u2014 it must be donated, with at least 25 acres required for a new location to qualify. That restriction, Dale said, is why cooperation with counties like Bexar play a crucial role in getting projects like this off the ground.<\/p>\n
If the funding request is approved, the home would include roughly 120 beds, divided into four wings. One of those wings would serve as a memory care unit for veterans with Alzheimer\u2019s disease or dementia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The facility would feature a mix of private and community rooms, along with areas for physical, occupational and speech therapy. Dale said the state soon plans to explore the possibility of expanding services to include in-house dialysis units, a service that veterans currently require transport to outside facilities to receive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like other facilities in the state, eligibility would be open to any veteran in Texas requiring long-term care, as well as their spouses. The VA pays a per-diem to the state facilities to facilitate care for residents, eligible veterans with a VA disability rating of 70% or higher would pay nothing out of pocket to stay in the facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chosen property location offers quick access to the Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital and the VA outpatient clinic along Highway 151. Wilson said those connections were key factors when selecting the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe looked at proximity to VA hospitals, clinics and other facilities, and this property checked all the boxes,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt keeps veterans close to care while using land the county already owns.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Veterans Land Board will make the final decision on a name for the facility, county officials plan to recommend it be dedicated to the Edgewood District Veterans. The group formed to honor the 55 Edgewood ISD class of 1967 graduates killed in the Vietnam War \u2014 the second highest casualty count in the nation from a single school district.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Albert_Veto_Moreno_President_Edgewood_Veterans_district_Commisoners_Court_Veterans_home_10.14.2025_D.jpeg\")
Edgewood District Veterans President Albert \u201cVeto\u201d Moreno watches a presentation Tuesday at Commissioners Court on a proposed land donation for a state-run veterans home. Credit: Diego Medel \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Albert \u201cVeto\u201d Moreno, president of the Edgewood District Veterans, said the proposal represents long-overdue recognition for a community that has continued serving long after the war ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to the association, it\u2019s high time they got some recognition,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about me or the current board, but about recognizing the group for giving back to the community after having lost so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Edgewood District Veterans, founded in the early 2000s, operates as a nonprofit that provides scholarships, clothing drives and other assistance to students and families in the district.<\/p>\n
Moreno said several members of the Edgewood District Veterans are currently battling serious illnesses, underscoring the necessity of a veterans home inside of the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got two members that just discovered they had cancer. Another one that\u2019s being bounced around from the hospital to hospital because of funding,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cInstead of going to Floresville, because his family\u2019s from here, this would be ideal, I mean, we are Military City, USA. Why don\u2019t we have one? I don\u2019t know but it\u2019s high time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For now, county staff will continue working with the Veterans Land Board as the state prepares its federal funding request next spring. If approved, the project would mark a new chapter for the largest veteran community in the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 55% of Bexar County\u2019s 173,000 veterans are over the age of 55. For many of them, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[698,3022,5015,27,29,28,5016,92,3028,5017,1913,5018,5019,94],"class_list":["post-4684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-bexar-county","tag-commisioners-court","tag-department-of-veterans-affairs","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-veteran-land-board","tag-top-story","tag-typedaily","tag-veteran-housing","tag-veterans","tag-veterans-affairs","tag-veterans-issues","tag-wc-750-1000"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}