San Antonio officials may soon opt to extend the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) by an additional 25 years, paving the way for $580 million in earnings for critical capital projects. Chief among these, the extended zone could enable the city’s efforts to advance a new arena for the San Antonio Spurs and other mixed-use projects.
With Midtown TIRZ signaling its interest in extending the zone through 2060, it now falls on the City Council to move on the final decision. Greenlighting the extension would net the city hundreds of millions of additional dollars to invest in both public and private projects.
Among these major initiatives, the city could buy the former Institute of Texan Cultures site, securing much needed real estate for the upcoming San Antonio Spurs arena. Currently, the University of Texas at San Antonio is seeking up to $60 million for the site.
While the campus isn’t located in the Midtown TIRZ, city officials have noted that there are certain allowances to deploy TIRZ funds outside those boundaries. The city may also use the funding to boost private companies’ plans for mixed-use development in River North.
The board will vote on the projects later this fall, alongside other considerations for a $10 million request from the San Antonio Zoo, the San Antonio Botanical Garden and the Brackenridge Park Conservancy.
Should the City Council vote in favor of extending the TIRZ, officials project collecting a total of $780.2 million in usable dollars by 2060.
Photo by Mark Direen from Pexels
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