{"id":202083,"date":"2025-09-05T10:43:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202083\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T10:43:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:43:16","slug":"progressives-on-san-antonio-council-take-aim-at-tirz-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202083\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressives on San Antonio council take aim at TIRZ spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weeks after progressives on the City Council lost a fight to press pause on plans for a publicly funded NBA arena<\/a>, one of the development tools being used to finance the arena \u2014 as well as a new Minor League Baseball stadium<\/a> and a gorilla habitat at the San Antonio Zoo<\/a> \u2014 is facing new opposition.<\/p>\n

Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones, or TIRZs, have been around in Texas since the 1980s, and were designed to help cities incentivize development in unsafe or deteriorated<\/a> neighborhoods through concentrated investments in the area\u2019s infrastructure and public amenities.<\/p>\n

While many of San Antonio\u2019s TIRZs have succeeded in spurring new development, a City Council that just added several progressive voices<\/a> in this year\u2019s municipal election now wants more oversight of money they say has increasingly veered from its intended goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is the construction and facilitation of the haves and have-nots, and essentially, the hoarding of wealth concentrated in one area,\u201d Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) said Wednesday at a special council meeting on the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re creating this beautiful community downtown, but one in which the majority of San Antonio residents can\u2019t afford to live here if they wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n

TIRZs fuel development by allowing participating taxing entities set a baseline for the zone\u2019s taxable value, and then direct the property taxes from any new development, as well as on growth of existing properties, into a fund for projects within its boundaries.<\/p>\n

In the case of the baseball stadium and proposed downtown Spurs basketball arena, developers behind the projects are promising to build significant new housing and mixed-used development around the projects \u2014 bolstering the TIRZ with funds that will eventually pay off bonds issued to build the sports venues.<\/p>\n

Because of that, they insist that new housing built within these two downtown zones must be either luxury or market-rate, so that it produces enough property taxes to pay for the venues.<\/p>\n

While both projects were signed off on by a majority of council members \u2014 as is required for TIRZ projects \u2014 the wonky, long-used funding mechanism has been gaining more attention from policy experts in recent years. <\/p>\n

TIRZ explainers are now even showing up in the social media feeds of community activists<\/a> in the wake of San Antonio\u2019s heated sports venue debates.<\/p>\n

Research from the University of Texas<\/a> and Rice University<\/a> suggests that since coming onto the scene in the 1980s, TIRZs often create pockets of wealth at the expense of other areas of a city.<\/p>\n

They bring in the desired development, the findings argue,\u00a0but levy an additional tax burden on residents outside the zone\u00a0when extended beyond the initial purpose \u2014 though both sets of research noted San Antonio had used them more effectively than other cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was comparing TIRZ across the state, honestly San Antonio was like the poster child for how to have good TIRZ,\u201d said John W. Diamond, a tax and finance expert at Rice University\u2019s Baker Institute for Public Policy. \u201cMost of the TIRZs came to fruition and closed down on schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

New leaders, old deals<\/p>\n

On the heels of two high-profile venue agreements that lean on TIRZ funding, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is among the new leaders joining Castillo\u2019s push to review the city\u2019s active zones<\/a> and put more guardrails in place for how the money is spent.<\/p>\n

TIRZ critics say new development and housing within their boundaries doesn\u2019t contribute to the city\u2019s general fund to bolster police, fire and other city services those residents and businesses will need.<\/p>\n

Jones has suggested the money tied up in TIRZs should be considered alongside other funding sources when trying to address San Antonio\u2019s projected budget deficit<\/a> of nearly $150 million by 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (right) and District 5 Councilmember Teri Castillo listen to comments from the public about a downtown Spurs arena on Aug. 21. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the council members were granted a special meeting to discuss the use of TIRZ funding \u2014 just days after Assistant City Manager Lori Houston<\/a>, who oversees downtown development, announced plans to retire at the end of the month.<\/p>\n

In a presentation to the council<\/a>, the city\u2019s Chief Financial Officer Troy Elliott said that for the 2025 fiscal year, roughly $45 million, or about 5% of the city\u2019s $819 million levied property tax dollars, would be captured in a TIRZ.<\/p>\n

Some of that money is expected to fund neighborhood improvements that council members are excited about, like renovations to the West Side\u2019s historic Basila Frocks building<\/a> in Castillo\u2019s district, and a University of the Incarnate Word eye clinic in Eastside District 2.<\/p>\n

Other TIRZs reimburse developers for roads and infrastructure around housing developments that wouldn\u2019t otherwise exist, such as the massive master-planned community<\/a> Condalia that\u2019s being built east of Southeast Loop 410 by VersaTerra Development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TIRZ is more than a financing tool, it\u2019s a commitment to revitalization across the city,\u201d said Neighborhood and Housing Services Director Veronica Garcia, who has worked for the city for more than two decades. \u201cSince adopting the tax increment financing over 20 years ago, we have used this tool to reinvest in areas that have been overlooked, areas which without significant city Investment would continue to remain underutilized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Divisions over downtown<\/p>\n

Most of the council members agreed the city-initiated TIRZs are starting to produce some quality projects their residents want, and that developer-initiated zones creating new housing outside the urban core were working as desired.<\/p>\n

But divisions arose at Wednesday\u2019s meeting over three city-initiated zones in particular, the Midtown, Houston Street and Hemisfair TIRZs, which are expected to pay for zoo projects and Witte Museum upgrades, the San Antonio Missions\u2019 Minor League Baseball stadium district northwest of downtown, and the new $1.3 billion Spurs arena<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n

The Midtown TIRZ<\/a> was created in 2008 in an area with high crime, and now includes some of the city\u2019s wealthiest enclaves, like the Pearl district. It\u2019s been extended and repurposed<\/a> to help fund dozens of projects<\/a> over its lifetime, including the zoo\u2019s gorilla exhibit. <\/p>\n

It has a termination date of 2041, and is even being considered as a funding source to purchase the land for the Spurs arena that\u2019s several blocks south of its current boundaries.<\/p>\n

\"TheA topiary gorilla at the San Antonio Credit: Scott Ball \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\"ARendering of renovated Basila Frocks Credit: Courtesy \/ Overland Partners<\/p>\n

\"\"The Witte Museum on Broadway Credit: Brenda Baz\u00e1n \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) said there\u2019s still work to be done on pivoting to affordable housing in the Midtown TIRZ area, but she believes its board was right to keep it going and advance new projects that children across the whole city can enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the funds go back to the general fund, we don\u2019t have that direct access to where the funds go,\u201d said Kaur, who wants the city to find a different funding source for the arena land.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, city staff said the Houston Street TIRZ<\/a> is in the process of being redrawn so that it can fund the baseball stadium. It will absorb some property from the West Side TIRZ and be given an expiration date of 2060.<\/p>\n

The Hemisfair TIRZ<\/a> will capture new development around the proposed Spurs arena, and its expiration date will be extended as long as needed to repay the city\u2019s share of the area bonds.<\/p>\n

The zones are overseen by a board a directors appointed by the city \u2014 often including council members and city staff members \u2014 and the City Council approves the board\u2019s projects and spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are long-term investments that do so much for our city, and it\u2019s really growth paying for growth in a lot of ways,\u201d said Councilman Marc Whyte (D10), one of the council\u2019s few fiscal conservatives.<\/p>\n

\"\"District 1 Councilmember Sukh Kaur speaks at a budget town hall on public safety on Aug. 19 at City Hall. Credit: Diego Medel \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Jones, Castillo, Leo Castillo-Anguiano (D2), Edward Mungia (D4) and Ric Galvan (D6), on the other hand, each called for changes.<\/p>\n

They want more council representation on the TIRZ boards to ensure fair distribution of the money. Some also called for a reexamination of how TIRZ projects align with the city\u2019s goals, including an explanation for how city staff decided zones funding the Spurs\u2019 arena and baseball stadium would be allowed to disregard a 2022 city policy<\/a> mandating that they promote affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I can certainly appreciate gorilla housing, it\u2019s a hard sell when we\u2019re talking to our own folks about housing for gorillas and not affordable housing in our community,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would appreciate some documentation, either from Mr. Elliott or Ms. Garcia, about why that that policy wasn\u2019t adhered to, so we can learn from that mistake and understand how that policy would be adhered to moving forward,\u201d the mayor added.<\/p>\n

City Manager Erik Walsh said staff would return with some feedback, but cautioned that past councils approved the TIRZ projects that are currently in motion, making it tough to pull that funding back for other uses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may have not come to you all, but I think we need to vet that out a bit more,\u201d said Walsh, who noted that the zoo renovations were taken out of the city\u2019s 2022 bond program because city leaders promised to fund them with TIRZ money instead. \u201c[With the exception of] probably two or three of the city-initiated TIRZ, they\u2019ve all got plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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