By Edmond Ortiz
This edition of Under Development casts a spotlight on another commercial development coming to Alamo Heights’ Broadway Street corridor, new multifamily properties in Boerne and New Braunfels, and a project that is going literally underground at a San Antonio campus that serves individuals of all abilities and their families.
Elsewhere, Boerne officials are grappling with a polarizing townhome proposal, and Leon Valley’s leaders aim to be proactive with data center development.
ALAMO HEIGHTS
City Council voted Nov. 9 to grant variance requests and approve replatting to accommodate a new two-story mixed-use development at 6333 Broadway St. A local development firm, Mule Ventures led by Benjamin Dreszer, aims to build a commercial structure on a vacant lot, which is usually the site of seasonal Christmas tree sales.
The new building would include space for various uses, ranging from a cafe and retail downstairs to professional services upstairs. There would also be a small courtyard in the center of the structure.
Council questioned the amount of proposed parking spaces, some of which would be located on-site beneath and behind the commercial building. Council agreed to a previously adopted number of parking spaces on Broadway, and eliminated parking on Inslee Avenue, which intersects Broadway. There is no word yet on a construction timeline.
BOERNE
Boerne city and business leaders gathered Nov. 12 to celebrate the opening of The Calvert, a luxury apartment community featuring one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes at 9512 Lemon Creek Blvd. Each residential unit has an open-concept floor plan, stainless steel appliances, full-size washers and dryers, wood-styled flooring, walk-in closets, with select homes offering private yards and built-in workspaces.
Residents have access to amenities such as a resort-style swimming pool with lounge seating, grill and fire pit, fitness center, coffee bar, co-working spaces, community lounge and kitchen, package room, and a dog park.
A controversial townhouse development proposal appears to be returning to the drawing board. Representatives for a 29-townhome community proposed for development on a vacant 6.4-acre tract at 727A Johns Road promptly withdrew their annexation and zoning requests during the Nov. 10 Boerne City Council meeting.
Up until the withdrawal, Daniel Wetzel of Centerline Engineering, a firm working with property owner Dennis Spinelli, said project principals had spent much time and money devising a development proposal that would benefit them, the immediate existing neighborhood and Boerne’s master plan.
Project representatives added they were trying to accommodate ideas offered by city officials, but that in their minds, city staff and the planning and zoning commission had made it hard for Spinelli to meet certain conditions to make the proposed development. Project representatives also suggested that, because Spinelli had specific rights as a property owner, litigation was a potential option regarding what to do with the land.
But council heard how planning and zoning commissioners voted in September to recommend denial of the proposal out of neighbors’ concerns about traffic and other potential negative impacts. Several residents of the adjacent Villas at Hampton Place neighborhood voiced their frustration with the proposal, adding that they felt the project partners were trying to force the city’s hand to approve their initiative. Wetzel then withdrew the annexation and zoning requests without further comment.
LEON VALLEY
Leon Valley City Council plans to meet Nov. 17 to consider establishing a formal definition of data centers in case a developer were to propose erecting such a facility inside city limits.
A draft amendment of Leon Valley’s unified development code calls for officially designating a definition for data centers as “a physical room, building, or facility for storing, managing, and disseminating data and information, including computer systems and associated components, housing IT infrastructure, and training artificial intelligence.”
The growth of streaming videos, remote work and AI has sparked a boom in construction of data centers, which has prompted a variety of concerns from environmentalists, grassroots groups and other members in multiple communities nationwide. San Antonio, Cibolo and New Braunfels are among the area cities to recently implement or consider enacting regulations for local data center development.
Leon Valley has no data centers, but local officials said a firm definition would guide them if a developer were to approach the suburb with a data center proposal. The operator of a data center would – by right – be able to situate such a facility in Leon Valley’s industrial-zoned district located in the southern part of town. Local officials added that, later on, the city could offer a prospective data center developer the opportunity to apply for a specific use permit, which then could be fully vetted by city staff and the council.
NEW BRAUNFELS
Construction began earlier this fall on The Neue, a mixed-use development at 699 W. San Antonio St. in downtown New Braunfels. The four-story complex will feature five, ground-floor office and retail spaces, and 43 condominium units.
Residents will have access to amenities such as a resort-style pool, outdoor lounge, a fitness center, indoor package delivery, and pet-friendly features. Construction on the $20 million development from Gillum Development and Seals Family Properties is slated for completion in late 2027.
Officials at Alamo Colleges District’s Northeast Lakeview College recently announced that students are now able to enroll in spring 2027 classes that will be offered at the NLC’s newly expanded New Braunfels campus.
District and college officials expect to have a ribbon-cutting before the end of 2026 to mark the grand opening of New Braunfels’ larger, newer ACD/NLC campus at 2049 Sundance Pkwy., which has been undergoing renovations to accommodate expanded educational opportunities for residents in Comal and Guadalupe counties.
SAN ANTONIO
The Boring Co. from Elon Musk has begun digging Morgan’s Inclusion Tunnel, a nearly 1-mile-long underground transit corridor that will connect visitors to existing and future facilities at Morgan’s Inclusion Campus.
According to a Nov. 10 announcement, the privately funded tunnel will have self-driving electric shuttles ferry guests around the 300-acre northeast San Antonio nonprofit complex. The campus features Morgan’s Wonderland, an inclusive theme park that serves individuals of all abilities, their families, caregivers and partners. The venue also has adjoining recreational and athletic facilities, and other inclusive designations such as Morgan’s Hotel.
The Boring Co. is using a nearly 1-million pound cylindrical machine named Prufrock-5 to dig the tunnel over a four-month period. The tunnel is slated to open for service in late 2027.
