San Antonio staff outline updated SAEDC investment guidelines, plan property acquisitions in 2025

City staff on the San Antonio Economic & Community Development committee presented updated investment guidelines for the San Antonio Economic Development Corporation (SAEDC) and described how the corporation will be used as a flexible financing tool for revitalization projects.

Thomas Davis, Community Revitalization Administrator in the Department of Economic Development, told the committee that the SAEDC is a Type B nonprofit corporation created in 2010 to “promote, assist and amplify economic development activity,” that the mayor serves as its board chair and that the board includes council members and three general members. He said the SAEDC has made a total of 12 investments and currently has four active agreements, and that in 2023 it amended its bylaws to allow real-estate projects.

Davis said one priority for the SAEDC has been a military medical innovation initiative that began in 2023 with a contract with Velocity Texas to manage the program. He described the SAEDC as being used to pursue additional resources, act as a financing core for projects and partner with private investors and other community resources.

The updated investment guidelines, Davis said, add minimum monitoring and compliance criteria, formalize diligence requirements that were previously applied inconsistently, and create flexibility so the SAEDC can cover a range of project types. He described a project timeline the department is pursuing for fiscal 2025–2026: through the third quarter of the current fiscal year the city will identify properties and conduct initial due diligence; later in the fiscal year staff expect acquisition activity and investor outreach, culminating in RFEIs (requests for expressions of interest) and identification of developers and builders in 2026.

Council members pressed staff on several issues. Councilmember Castillo asked whether private businesses or nonprofit child‑care providers could participate; Davis said the SAEDC is “open to that,” but that any specific eligibility would be determined after staff review of the project details. Councilmember Adriana Rocha García asked about geographic representation on the SAEDC board and said she was concerned that the current board makeup gives limited representation for parts of the city (she cited District 3 and other corridors). Davis and other staff acknowledged the concern and said the guidelines emphasize working with corridor plans, transit‑oriented development (TOD) districts and community development corporations, and that staff are identifying properties in targeted corridors as part of the work plan.

A council member asked about the SAEDC budget; staff said the operating budget for the SAEDC is about $875,000 and characterized it as a relatively small financing lever intended to attract or leverage larger private and public dollars. Committee members also asked about enforcement when the city owns property—whether there are clawback or compliance provisions to prevent vacant or blighted properties—and staff said the updated guidelines add minimum compliance and monitoring requirements and that city staff will negotiate terms in agreements to protect city interests.

The committee did not take a roll‑call vote on the SAEDC guidelines at the meeting; the presentation and questions were followed by other agenda items.

Ending details: Staff said they will return to the council with recommendations after property identification and initial due diligence, and that predevelopment acquisitions and developer outreach are expected in later 2025 and into 2026.