Press Release
U.S. Commerce Department Invests $1.2 Million to Advance the Brooks City Base Development Project in San Antonio, Texas
Contact: Public Affairs Department, (202) 482-4085
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.2 million grant to the Brooks Development Authority in San Antonio, Texas, to help redevelop a former military base into Brooks City Base (BCB), a commercial and residential development. According to grantee estimates, the project will lead to the creation of 1,500 jobs.
“Supporting strong, collaborative, regional strategies that spur private investment and create new jobs is a priority for the Department of Commerce and EDA” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams. “The EDA grant announced today will enable the Brooks City Base community to turn unused land and buildings into a viable area for businesses growth and investment.”
“These federal funds will support steady economic progress at Brooks City Base by removing some barriers to investment and completing transformation of the property to make it more appealing for private construction,” said U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett. “In a nearly decade-long quest, Brooks City Base continues to move forward in a local, state and federal venture to revitalize this former military base.”
The planned development, Brooks City Base (BCB), represents a master planned community offering affordable housing and more than 1,200 acres of real estate for mixed-use development that will be an engine for economic growth. The project will help improve the competitiveness of the region's key economic clusters: biopharmaceuticals and renewable energy by increasing the availability of sites available to support innovative businesses. EDA’s investment will allow for site preparation for 23 sites across 300 acres, demolishing old buildings and creating green space that can be leased to public and private investors.
The Brooks Development Authority conducted extensive planning to design a community on the former base that would incorporate the prime location, cultural importance, and available business and residential space to create a powerful economic driver for the southwest side of San Antonio. The applicant's efforts have led to the location of several businesses in the area: Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, Texas A&M University, the University of the Incarnated Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (opening 2016), Mission Solar Energy, both single and multi-family housing, improved transportation stops, and new health care, bioscience, retail and hospital businesses. Two cluster based companies, DPT Pharmaceuticals and Wyle Technology, Science, and Engineering, have been recruited to BCB, and more than 200,000 jobs have been created in the region to-date. The EDA’s investment will help complete the transformation of the area.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.