Plan Framework
Economic Development
Introduction
Located on the western edge of San Antonio, the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center has emerged as a major tourism destination as well as a hub for large corporate office campuses. Commonly referred to as Westover Hills, much of the plan area was master planned in the 1980s and 1990s. The Regional Center has several major economic anchor businesses, attractions, and institutions including Sea World San Antonio, Northwest Vista College, Capital Group, the Wells Fargo Wiseman Campus, Frost Bank, and Christus Santa Rosa Hospital.
In 2018, the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center had approximately 11,900 jobs. The plan area has a diversity of employment with a large number of jobs in the tourism, finance, health care and education industries. One out of four jobs in the plan area are within the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector. This is likely the largest employment sector due to the presence of major destinations such as Sea World San Antonio and the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa. The Finance and Insurance industry has grown substantially in recent years due the presence of the large Wells Fargo and Capital Group campuses, and the attraction of other corporate campus developments to the plan area. The Christus Santa Rosa Hospital and Northwest Vista College contribute to sector diversity within the employment base, providing a large number of health care and education jobs, respectively.
Medium-wage jobs make up most of the employment in the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center. Higher wages are concentrated in the finance and insurance sectors, while there are lower wage jobs with earnings of around $15,000 per year within the retail and tourism-oriented sectors. Most people employed in the plan area do not live within the plan area. However, most workers come from relatively close by, with 56% of workers in the plan area commuting less than 10 miles.
The Regional Center is a major destination for office and retail developments. The plan area continues to be a sought-after location for office users, especially businesses seeking secure campuses with reliable high-speed internet or higher electrical load capacity. Since 2005, office space inventory in the plan area has increased by nearly 7% annually, and today the plan area has roughly 3.9 million square feet of office space. Retail space inventory has grown at a higher rate (9.9% annually since 2005) than office space. The plan area’s 1.9 million square feet of retail space is primarily oriented to Loop 1604, and not along Highway 151 where the majority of office space is located. Just west of the plan area, in unincorporated Bexar County, is a large power center, or major retail hub, called The Alamo Ranch Shopping Center with 464,000 square feet of retail.
Hospitality is also a considerable economic driver for the area, due to proximity to Sea World San Antonio, easy access to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and the “Hill Country feel” in the area. There are six hotel properties spread throughout the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center including the large Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Conference Center as well as the Hilton San Antonio Hill Country.
From 2010 to 2040, the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center is forecast to grow by 24,600 jobs. Recent trends in office and retail development, as well as the growth of other anchor institutions such as Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, indicate that employment growth in the plan area is on pace to meet or slightly exceed the long-term forecast.
Recommendation #1
Support the growth of the plan area’s and San Antonio Economic Development Foundation’s target industries including cyber security, technology, financial services, and tourism.The Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center has a diverse mixture of employers and is a premier location for IT/Technology, financial services, and back office support services in San Antonio. Efforts to build on these strengths are needed. The plan area is also a major tourism destination, which presents an opportunity for the attraction of additional visitors and businesses.
Recommendation #2
Attract mixed-use destinations with a focus on entertainment, retail, and services oriented to area workers and residents.Despite the concentration of large employers and surrounding neighborhoods, the Regional Center lacks destinations for entertainment and retail/services oriented to the workers and residents in the plan area. Efforts are needed to attract mixed-use entertainment and retail developments to the Regional Mixed-Use areas designated in the land use plan.
Recommendation #3
Maintain Hill Country aesthetic and office campus opportunities for employers within a more integrated land use pattern that better connects campuses to mixed-use destinations and mobility options.The land use pattern in the Regional Center is dominated by large users on secure campuses and super blocks that make mobility within the Regional Center difficult and dependent on the major highways and arterials in the plan area. Efforts to integrate more internal connections and a smaller block pattern will support more mobility options and help to address congestion issues that may limit future economic growth. A more integrated land use pattern will also allow employers to locate closer to retail and services that are desired by and attractive to their workforce. Integration of other uses within large campus blocks can help the plan area maintain its competitive footing for attracting new businesses.
Recommendation #4
Provide opportunities for smaller scale, multi-tenant office and employment spaces and buildings to allow for a wider-variety of types and sizes of businesses to locate in the plan area.The Regional Center has many large businesses on large campuses. However, the plan area lacks smaller, multi-tenant office and employment spaces. Efforts are needed to attract multi-tenant offices to diversify the types of businesses in the plan area while supporting smaller businesses to locate near the large anchor businesses in the center.
Economic Challenges to Address
The Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center has many economic assets and strengths, particularly infrastructure advantages. The plan area has access to desirable electrical connections and the presence of high-speed fiber-optic lines. The Regional Center is surrounded by a growing, desirable area for housing within the region, and employers in the plan area have been able to attract a diverse, and younger than average workforce.
The Planning Team identified three main economic challenges for the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center:
- Access and Congestion – The plan area is well-connected by automobile travel to the rest of San Antonio, with access from Loop 1604 and Highway 151. However, these two roads are the primary access roads and therefore attract a significant amount of internal car trips. These two major highways are congested during peak hours and need continued improvements, as well as transportation alternatives, to support the connectivity both within this Regional Center and also to other housing and employment centers throughout the city. Within the plan area, movement and access is constrained by a lack of connecting roadways, as well as the presence of large superblocks. Improved mobility routes for cars and all transportation modes are needed to increase access for residents, workers, and visitors. As employment increases in the plan area, access and congestion will need to be addressed in multiple ways.
- Room to Grow – The Regional Center has existing vacant sites to capture new employment. However, some sites are impacted by drainage concerns and flood ways. Creative solutions are needed to maximize capacity for employment uses in the Regional Center while maintaining the natural systems that exist. These natural constraints could also be considered opportunities for open space.
- Diversity of Use and Urban Form – Developments within the Regional Center are primarily large superblocks and secure campuses. This type of urban form creates a greater reliance on major arterial roadways and highways for access. Because of this type of development, there are also long distances between uses and destinations, which leads to a lack of desirability for using other modes of transportation (walking, biking, etc.). The retail and entertainment destinations are largely auto-oriented and the Regional Center lacks destinations where multiple uses or businesses can be accessed by foot. The lack of a mixture of uses and destinations may make the continued attraction of businesses and workforce more difficult as other employment locations in the region move towards placing employers closer to and mixed within areas with retail, restaurants, entertainment, and housing options.
Target/Opportunity Industries
Target industries and economic opportunities were identified for the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center. The target industries and economic opportunities are meant to help organize the city’s economic geography and provide guidance on the role the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area can play in the city’s overall economic development efforts. These identified industries can also give direction to the city and its economic partners as to what areas are best suited for certain opportunities when they arise. The target industries and economic opportunities for the Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area Regional Center are:
- Technology Campus Mixed-Use Developments – The Westover Hills area has attracted a number of financial firms and other industries to larger, secure campus to support their technology and back office support service needs. The Hill Country and secure campus aesthetic is a major attractor for additional businesses. This cohesive aesthetic should continue to be encouraged. However, there are ways to better integrate these secure buildings and campuses into a more mixed-use environment. As employers are increasingly looking for areas that have services and amenities attractive to their workforce, encouraging mixed-use will help increase the appeal of the plan area. The planning team believes this could include manufacturing types of uses, if they are “clean” or technology focused, and not likely to pollute the air or water. These types of uses would also be taking advantage of the high-speed fiber internet and strong electrical grid within the area.
- Education and Career Growth – The Northwest Vista College is a major asset for the Regional Center and the city. There is the opportunity to leverage the programs offered by the college to help support the career growth of workers in the Regional Center.
- Live, Work, Play Center – The Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area lacks destinations for retail, entertainment, and food to support workers and residents. The employment and residential uses in the plan area will support additional mixed-use destinations and gathering places with an entertainment, shopping, or recreation focus.
Attributes of a Vibrant Economic Place
Successful economic places have common attributes that help create their success. These attributes help to build upon the traditional attributes of attractive employment locations to create a cohesive strategy for managing these places. Each Regional Center is being evaluated based on the presence of the following attributes.
The Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area has many of the attributes that help create successful, vibrant economic places. The findings of the assessment for these attributes are detailed below, and identified shortcomings are addressed in the recommendations at the end of this section:
- Brand/Identity – The Regional Center has an identity and character aesthetic that has been created due to master-planned development and a gateway corridor zoning overlay. The identity of the plan area is one of large and secure campuses and a “Hill Country” natural aesthetic. Maintaining this character will preserve the appeal of the plan area for businesses. Embracing a name for the plan area, such as Westover Hills, and building on this identity will help increase awareness.
- Organizations – Successful office employment areas often benefit from a collective effort between businesses, property owners, workers, and municipalities to manage and promote these areas. There are a variety of organizational structures that could be implemented. Typically, these entities focus on economic development, transportation management, area promotion/branding, and/or public space/amenity management to support the economic growth of the area while addressing major issues. The Highway 151 and Loop 1604 Area would benefit from the creation of an entity that would manage promotion of the area and advocate for transportation solutions.
- Anchor Institutions – The Regional Center has a wealth of anchor institutions in a diversity of industries, including medical (Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, upcoming Methodist Hospital), finance (Capital Group, Wells Fargo, One Frost) and entertainment/hospitality (Sea World, Hyatt Regency Hill Country).
- Urban/Design Planning – Since development of the area was largely through master plans, the plan area has created a cohesive feel and helped enhance? the “Hill Country” aesthetic. However, the Regional Center lacks distinct destinations and gathering places/community centers that bring workers, residents, and visitors together.
- Transportation – The transportation network in the area is highly dependent on Highway 151, Loop 1604, and major arterial roads. The large super blocks make internal mobility in the plan area difficult and should be addressed. In addition, the capacity and congestion issues on the two major highways directly impact the ability of the plan area to expand jobs and housing.
- Investments – The Regional Center has been built primarily through private investment. Improvements to the major highways have helped support growth but there is a need for additional investment. The private sector is not likely to fully fund the public infrastructure and amenities that are missing in the area.
- Finance/Incentives – No public financing tools have been leveraged in the plan area. The strength of the market in the plan area does not indicate the need for incentives aside from perhaps the creation of affordable housing options. Investment districts, such as a Public Improvement District (PID), could fund improvements desired by the residents and businesses in the plan area that are not likely to be funded through the city’s capital improvement program.