There is a lot of new development in the pipeline at Brooks, and CEO and President Leo Gomez said the former Air Force base is in the hunt for more.
“We’ve seen a lot of activity recently from companies interested in moving here, which really is a validation for us focusing on making Brooks a mixed-use development,” Gomez said. “Now if only we could get some of them to sign leases.”
Gomez said that since Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. opened its 115,000-square-foot plant at Brooks, the Japanese company’s first U.S. location, other Japanese company’s have expressed interest in bringing their operations to Brooks. Apart from Japan, Gomez said prospective companies are hailing from other parts of Asia and Europe as well.
“We won’t have enough land if all these prospects come through,” Gomez said.
Since being handed over to the city of San Antonio in 2004, Brooks has grown its tax increment reinvestment zone from an assessed value of $36.8 million to $663 million last year. Today Brooks houses 1,337 residential units*, numerous single-family residences, big-box retailers, restaurants, schools, industrial warehouses, three hotels and the offices of multiple prominent companies.
And there is plenty of room to grow as Brooks has 750 acres available for development, Gomez said.
Recently, the Business Journal reported that Baptist Health System plans to invest an additional $1 million into Brooks’ Mission Trails Baptist Hospital, and Industrial Group Southwest has plans for a multiphase industrial park on 45 acres at Brooks. The proposed industrial park at the southwest corner of Goliad Road and City Base Landing could bring more than 2 million square feet of Class A industrial space to area, which would include a single 1 million-square-foot warehouse. According to CBRE Group’s second quarter industrial report, San Antonio’s South submarket has 2.9 million square feet of net rentable Class A industrial space. However, only 0.7 percent of that Class A space is available, just 20,513 square feet.
Brooks is also planning a new Class A and Class B office park between Sidney Brooks and Inner Circle Drive. The property will feature several new buildings, including two 70,000-square-foot Class A buildings, named the Waters Buildings, and a 40,000-square-foot medical office.
Article originally published here: Brooks looks to capitalize on growing interest on the Southeast Side
*Corrected from original article
