Workers load new Toyota Tundra pickups onto rail cars in 2022 at Toyota’s manufacturing plant in San Antonio.The City Council voted Thursday to grant Toyota an economic development incentive package valued at over $16.5 million after a similar move by county leaders earlier in the week.
The company plans to add a 500,000-square-foot facility to the plant, according to city documents, and bring what is currently a third-party source under its roof in order to broaden the automaker’s capabilities and give the company more control over its manufacturing operations. “Bexar County’s commitment to manufacturing, particularly around workforce development and infrastructure, lays the foundation for our success, as demonstrated today,” she said.The city’s incentive package includes a 10-year agreement with a 65% abatement of real and personal ad valorem taxes and a Chapter 380 Economic Development Grant Agreement of $1 million for project-related infrastructure and site work.
At a May 21 meeting of the San Antonio Zoning Commission, commissioners delayed voting on a request to add an industrial overlay zone to almost 20,000 acres of land surrounding the 2,678-acre Toyota plant. After the ICOD proposal raised the ire of residents living in the Texas A&M-San Antonio Area Regional Center, who were concerned they could be affected by the rezoning, commissioners asked for city staff to host a public input session, which is now scheduled for July 2.
Niño said the proposal would not affect existing landowners and their properties because it is a future land use map, “so that down the road we don’t have a situation where folks are living right next door to heavy industrial.”