Despite the challenges of an unprecedented year, Brooks adapted and grew
2021 was one for the books. Each day was dedicated to our mission and vision to promote and develop a vibrant, sustainable community and to provide world-class opportunities that transform the campus and surrounding neighborhoods while respecting our rich and vibrant history.
Brooks and the entire South Side region continued the pattern of growth, despite challenging conditions. With every announcement and grand opening, opportunities for residents and business owners on the South Side are expanded. Here is our baker’s dozen recap of the great things that happened at Brooks this year.
Knowing that community support is bigger than us
The arrival of the coronavirus brought a new season of need for many members within our community. Knowing that it is bigger than us, we teamed up with organizations like the City of San Antonio, Curative, South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, San Antonio Food Bank, Kellum Medicine, University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine, and the U.S. Army to support the community by hosting various food distributions, blood drives, and COVID-19 testing sites and vaccine clinics on the Brooks campus. Additionally, Brooks hosted water bottle distributions and a warming station at the Embassy Suites at Brooks during February’s historic winter storm.
First for-sale single-family homes at Brooks break ground
Terramark Urban Homes purchased nearly five acres of land adjacent to The Greenline linear park for the development of a new housing community, Southlake, consisting of 60 single-family homes. Southlake will allow current Southside residents and first-time home buyers the opportunity to remain on the Southside and realize their dreams of homeownership, while also attracting new residents to the area from throughout the region
Nissei America, Inc. relocates U.S HQ to Brooks from California
Since 1947, Nissei has specialized in researching and developing injection molding machines as well as its molds, molding support systems, and mold processing technologies for global clients. In June, Nissei America, Inc. announced the relocation of its U.S. headquarters from Anaheim, California to San Antonio. The company’s subsidiary Nissei Plastic Machinery America, currently located at Brooks, will become the consolidated U.S. headquarters.
Cuisine Solutions award-winning facility opens, announces HQ move to Brooks
Cuisine Solutions, the industry-leading provider of high-quality prepared gourmet entrees, sauces, and other menu items to food service providers around the globe, opened its award-winning facility at Brooks. The San Antonio location brings a level of innovation and technology even higher than their other global facilities and will enable the company to meet increased demand for their high-quality sous vide products for customers including food service providers, restaurants, airlines, hotels, and retail businesses.
The Greenline extension opens
Brooks now connects directly to the San Antonio River thanks to a partnership with Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority. Located at the southern end of The Greenline, the extension is nearly a quarter mile at approximately 1,200-feet long, connecting to existing walking trails along the San Antonio River at Mission Reach. The extension features a 10-foot-wide mixed-use pathway, a 43-foot-long tunnel underneath the Union Pacific Railroad line, landscaping, drainage structures, and shaded congregation areas.
$85M single-family, duplex rental community breaks ground
The revitalization project replaces and expands Brooks’ aging housing stock with approximately 450 single-family detached and duplex rental homes. In so doing, it replaces a 163-unit rental community that was initially constructed as officers’ quarters for the Brooks Air Force Base in 1962. Other amenities include a clubhouse center and pool, dog and recreational parks, and walking paths.
Mission Trail Baptist Hospital opens Southeast SA’s first maternity unit
For generations, expectant mothers on the Southeast Side have had to travel at least 8 miles to give birth at a hospital. The new program at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital features nine private labor and delivery rooms, seven post-partum suites, two dedicated C-section suites, an eight-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and an OB emergency department.
Brooks Gives Back awards $60,000 to area nonprofits, the most money given in a single year
Three non-profit programs serving San Antonio’s South Side – Any Baby Can, Boys & Girls Club of San Antonio, and San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired – were each gifted $20,000 during Brooks Gives Back’s annual monetary disbursement. Brooks Gives Back – Brooks’ community-centric philanthropic organization – was established to support nonprofits that serve the Brooks campus and surrounding region through a culture of philanthropy generated from within the Brooks region. Learn more here.
University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine’s inaugural class celebrates first-ever Match Day, graduation
In March, UIWSOM’s inaugural class of 137 students celebrated their first-ever Match Day, the day medical school students across the country receive their residency assignments. Students will spend their years in residency all over the country, from Texas all the way to Alaska.
Bexar County workforce training center at Brooks announced
Bexar County announced plans to build a 30,000-square-foot workforce training facility at Brooks. The Texas Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education will operate the center, estimated to be about 30,000 square feet with multipurpose rooms, classrooms, computer labs, a high-bay robotics and training lab, support offices, and conference spaces. The project is one of several workforce initiatives by the county to help manufacturing industry partners solve critical skills gaps.
Texas’ first Opportunity Zone investment opens
The State of Texas’ first Opportunity Zone investment project opened on the Brooks campus. DPR Investments Ltd. purchased 9.4 acres of land on the eastern portion of the Brooks campus along City Base Landing in early 2019. The project includes the Brooks Business Center, 25 flex office spaces for small businesses, and a state-of-the-art climate controlled self-storage facility with 890 units.
OKIN Process plans major US HQ expansion at Brooks
OKIN Process, a Czech Republic-based company that confirmed in 2018 plans to develop its U.S. headquarters in San Antonio, is pursuing a major expansion of its Brooks campus. The business processor outsourcer, which employs about 100 people in the Alamo City, is working to essentially double its workforce. By the end of the year, OKIN’s San Antonio head count is expected to be closer to 700 and could grow much higher pending more contracted business.
Amazon opens delivery station
Amazon opened its new 350,000 square-foot delivery station at Brooks. Delivery stations power the last mile of Amazon’s order fulfillment process. Packages are transported to delivery stations from Amazon fulfillment and sortation centers, and then loaded into vehicles for delivery to customers. The delivery station will bring hundreds of jobs with an industry-leading pay and comprehensive benefits while supporting service delivery throughout South Texas.