Massive project in works for southeast
Bitterblue’s plans would add housing for 977 families
Local development firm Bitterblue wants to turn more than 200 vacant acres in southeast San Antonio into a mix of housing, retail and industrial space.
Plans for the site at 11625 Old Corpus Christi Highway call for 637 single-family lots on 120 acres and 340 multifamily units on 15 acres, according to a presentation Monday to the city’s Planning and Land Development Committee.
Bitterblue would set aside eight acres for retail, 18 acres for open space and drainage and 50 acres for industrial space, which is expected to include a data center. Last fall, Amazon Data Services Inc. bought about 50 acres there from an entity affiliated with Bitterblue.
Half of the single-family homes would be priced between $200,000 and $240,000. Seventy-five homes would cost between $177,000 and $200,000 and 243 homes would be priced over $240,000.
Bitterblue is petitioning for the creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, for the site. Increases in property tax revenue from land within the zone are used to reimburse developers for public improvements, such as streets and drainage.
The development is expected to cost $25.9 million. Bitterblue is seeking reimbursement for $18.8 million worth of infrastructure work, including a sewer extension and streets, according to the presentation.
“This is an area that has been in need of help, specifically in infrastructure,” said Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, who represents the South Side district where the development would be built. “I think this is a great combination.”
The site is near U.S. 181, and development heading toward Floresville is accelerating, Viagran added.
East Central Independent School District owns land east of the property. The sewer extension could enable more development in the area, such as a school, said Caroline Mcdonald, an attorney at Brown & Ortiz, P.C. who represents Bitterblue.
The committee OK’D the company’s TIRZ request, which will go to City Council for approval this spring. Bitterblue and Mcdonald declined to comment further.
Bitterblue provides planning, development and brokerage services. The company has helped redevelop former quarries into mixed-use sites, including Rogers Ranch, Shavano Park and the Lincoln Heights community, which includes Alamo Quarry Market, Quarry Village and Quarry Golf Club.
About 6 miles north of the Old Corpus Christi Highway site, Bitterblue is involved in turning the former Republic Golf Club on Southeast Military Drive into about 200 single-family homes, 300 multifamily units and four acres of commercial space. About 56 acres will be used for park or open space.
Council members will vote Thursday on an agreement between Bitterblue, the city and the Northeast Corridor TIRZ board for $1.6 million in public improvements for a master-planned community around the defunct Longhorn Quarry in northeast San Antonio.
The $100 million project will include hundreds of apartments, a charter school for 600 students, an amphitheater and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial space, according to city staff.
The infrastructure upgrades include extending David Edwards Drive to Schertz Road.
The area is designated as an “opportunity zone,” established as part of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul and intended to generate investment in underserved neighborhoods.
Investors and companies can get tax breaks on capital gains if they put their capital in long-term investments with the designated tracts. But the program has been criticized for primarily benefiting investors instead of residents, and research has shown mixed economic conditions within the zones.