Toyota’s new assembly line — codenamed Project Orca by city and state officials — could take another step forward next week.
San Antonio City Council will consider a 10-year tax abatement, along with other incentives, for a new $2 billion facility near Toyota’s existing Southside manufacturing plant.
City and state officials will also consider whether to build a four-lane roadway that would connect Toyota’s facilities with U.S. Highway 281.
Project Orca first surfaced earlier this year when Toyota applied for another tax abatement from Southwest Independent School District through a state-run program.
In those filings, Toyota officials said construction would take place between 2026 and 2030 and 2,000 new workers would be hired.
Southwest ISD officials said they supported the abatement, which would keep tax revenues at 25% of their full value through 2040.
Now, the City of San Antonio could be preparing to throw its own weight behind the project. City staff are recommending a combination of incentives and grants with an estimated value of over $122 million.
The headliner is a 10-year, 100% tax abatement on real and personal property at the Toyota site, which would have an estimated value of more than $88 million. Also included in the funding package are grants for job training and up to $24.5 million for road infrastructure construction in the area.
Council members will vote on the incentives at a June 18 A session meeting.
Part of those road infrastructure improvements include a new entrance at the northeast side of Toyota’s manufacturing campus that would connect the campus to U.S. Highway 281, roughly 2 miles away.
Construction for that four-lane highway spur would start in 2029, according to city documents.
Incentives would also be available from CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System and City Council could recommend Project Orca to the state as a Triple Jumbo Texas Enterprise Zone. That opens the door to a state tax refund for Toyota, which could be worth an additional $3.75 million, according to city council agenda documents.
In return, the city expects Toyota to create 2,000 new jobs by 2031 that meet or exceed the county’s average annual wage of $32.46 an hour.
If Toyota doesn’t meet those requirements, the City of San Antonio would be able to clawback its incentives.
The car manufacturer is currently finishing a rear axle production plant that will add 411 new workers to the site.
The new assembly line would be for car production. Toyota already produces Sequoia SUVs and Tundra trucks in San Antonio.
In filings with the state, Toyota says it is considering building at other sites in the United States, but the company has not disclosed where.
