During the five years when the Mission Reach of the River Walk was taking shape along the western edge of downtown, work crews moved the excavated soil to a vacant parcel on the South Side.
That parcel of land could in the coming years be pressed into another kind of service by Brooks, which recently acquired the 243 acres from the San Antonio River Authority (SARA). Located along Southton Road, south of Loop 410, the property is situated about two miles from the southernmost boundary of the mixed-use community.
Brooks officials are looking to make it a model for attracting new major manufacturing to San Antonio as a mini megasite.
It would be the kind of shovel-ready property economic development officials say they need to attract larger investments like recent entrants JCB and IEM to San Antonio.
Chicken and egg
Megasites are generally 500 to 1,000-acre properties where a single, large industrial user has access to heavy transportation and a workforce population.
Such sites make a city more attractive to potential industrial developers.
The more shovel-ready the site is, the better, meaning public and private infrastructure is established, and a manufacturer can move in and start production.
But how a city finances the creation of megasites, and ensuring it has power, water and access to transportation, is a chicken-and-egg issue, said Leo Gomez, president and CEO of Brooks.
“We have prospects — I call them whales — we have whales swimming around San Antonio, looking for a site that is ready for development within months,” he said.
It’s costly to acquire and pre-develop sites but if the sites aren’t available, the whales could drift away.
“I thought surely Brooks can help play a role … and at least pilot a project in that direction,” Gomez said.
If Brooks could secure a 100-acre parcel of land, it could finance the pre-development expenses, he said, “and basically use it as a model, ultimately, for a big megasite.”
‘Economic future’
That’s where Project Oso got its start.
Oso is Spanish for bear, the common pronunciation of Bexar. It is the codename Gomez gave the project after a conversation between Gomez and County Judge Peter Sakai about land they both thought the county owned.
Instead, it was owned by SARA, which was using it for soil and debris storage during its construction projects.
Though not a mega site, it’s a sizable parcel, and it’s situated along the Union Pacific rail line, Gomez said. Not only that, SARA was willing to transfer the title to Brooks when it’s no longer needed.
The land is valued at a combined $3.8 million, according to the appraisal district.
SARA’s board of directors recently approved the sale. The organization’s general manager, Derek Boese, said he is proud to work alongside Brooks and Bexar County to position the land for responsible development.
“This property represents an opportunity to think strategically about the long-term economic future of South San Antonio,” Boese said. “The property supported the completion of the Mission Reach and is positioned to be used during the construction of the Westside Creeks Ecosystem Restoration project.”
The $4.6 million Westside Creeks project is expected to be complete in late 2028.
While not located on the Brooks campus, the SARA site will be treated just like any of the property it owns and develops without having a tenant secured.
“We value it, [then] we use Brooks resources to either secure a loan to begin preparation, or we partner with a private developer who is willing to invest in it,” Gomez said.
Brooks’ development projects can also happen with funding support from the city, county and Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
It’s a formula that has been successful at Brooks and Gomez is eager to try it out on the SARA site, he said.
Gomez is a member of the board of directors of Greater:SATX, which is working on increasing its inventory of competitive, project-ready sites, said a statement provided by the regional economic development nonprofit. The organization did not respond to a request for the number of shovel-ready megasites currently available in the area.
Light industrial
It’s also not the first time Brooks has acquired land outside the boundaries of its military past.
In 2022, the Brooks board authorized its leadership to spend $1 million to purchase property two miles from the Brooks campus from Foresight Golf for the San Antonio Arboretum.
Brooks acquired 55 acres next to the State Hospital in 2019 and partnered with the city and SAMMinistries to develop permanent supportive housing on the site. The master developer also bought parcels of land on Goliad Road for two multi-family projects.
A tenant for the Southton Road property hasn’t been identified but Gomez views it as ideal for light manufacturing.
“Automotive suppliers — that’s the first industry that comes to mind — but anything in light manufacturing that receives raw product from rail or needs to transport finished product by rail,” he said.
While SARA works to complete the Westside Creeks project, Gomez plans to start work on Project Oso, he said, modeling and searching for ways to help fund pre-development and get it ready for those “whales.”
As a public-private development, Brooks provides its tenants land free of property taxes. In addition, Brooks is designated as a federal Opportunity Zone, which allows investors to access steep tax breaks, though the Southton property is not in the zone.
Companies like IEM don’t choose Brooks just for the incentives, he added. The manufacturer selected a site on Brooks because it had all the makings of a shovel-ready site.
The council’s governance committee is scheduled to discuss at a future meeting a council consideration request (CCR) for a study and report on the feasibility of creating a site readiness pilot program. The program would have the city identifying and acquiring a small number of sites and completing the infrastructure needed to market them for sale to businesses.
The CCR memo submitted by Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) states: “A shovel-ready inventory may also have the added benefit of reducing the city’s reliance on incentive agreements.”
