By Edmond Ortiz
H-E-B is getting tax rebates from Bexar County that will help to support the grocer’s planned $700 million, East Side-based initiative to expand its supply chain operations.
What is happening
County commissioners unanimously voted May 26 to approve an economic development agreement between Bexar County and the San Antonio-based retailer, which aims to upscale and enhance its 870-acre Foster Road campus north of Highway 87.
Company officials said the construction project could include a technologically advanced bakery, a refrigerated warehouse, a transportation building, a trailer return/returned goods facility, and the enlargement of its existing manufacturing plant.
According to H-E-B officials, the project is expected to create 720 jobs by 2028, toward a total of 1,200 new full-time jobs by 2038. The new jobs will come with an hourly wage ranging from $18.23 to $30, and full benefits, including 401K and stock plans.
H-E-B will retain the 1,400-plus employees presently working at the Foster Road campus, which serves as a super-regional warehouse and distribution center.
What they are saying
Ben Scott, H-E-B’s senior vice president of real estate, said the company considered Temple, Houston and other areas for the state for one of its largest capital projects to date before deciding to go with San Antonio.
Scott said the emergence of other warehousing and manufacturing facilities along the Foster Road corridor in east San Antonio helped H-E-B to favor east San Antonio.
“A project of this magnitude, we have not had in our supply chain before,” Scott added.
According to Scott, the tax abatements included in the economic development pact will help H-E-B to address infrastructure issues, namely improvements to a San Antonio Water System sewer system that he said will benefit both the company’s Foster Road complex, and surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
The company is also working with the county and the city of San Antonio to permit improvements to the immediate stretch of Foster Road, Scott said. The retailer is also looking to garner economic incentives from the city of San Antonio.
Commissioners praised the company for its major investment, with some adding that the number of jobs to be created by the expansion project, plus wages and benefits, will be a boost for San Antonio’s workforce, especially on the East Side.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who represents the area in question, lauded H-E-B for using the Foster Road campus to accommodate a fresh plant, and solar energy panels to make the facility more sustainable.
“When you get this amazing new warehousing facility finished, and we’re excited about the opportunities for H-E-B to continue to grow in San Antonio and Bexar County. I know our constituents will look forward to that,” he added.
