Helen Ramirez, economic development director for the City of San Marcos, walks host Justin McKenzie through the city's biggest active projects on this week's episode of The Building Texas Show, “San Marcos Spaceport? Here's What's Coming”: the purchase of nearly 200 acres from the U.S. Department of Labor to extend the San Marcos Regional Airport runway, the 2,000-acre TriTexas mega site next door, and the aerospace, defense and manufacturing companies moving into the college town between Austin and San Antonio.
Four threads from the episode:
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TriTexas. A 2,000-acre, rail-served site next to the regional airport. Regional detention and utilities are already built, before a single tenant has signed.
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The airport. FAA and Texas Aviation grants are funding a runway extension. The airport already has 18-plus tenants, including Berry Aviation, now owned by publicly traded Bristow Group (NYSE: VTOL).
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Star Park. Texas State's incubator is home to the Innovation Corridor Defense Accelerator, run with Starburst Aerospace and the Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership.
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The Midway Hotel. A 130-key boutique hotel is coming downtown on land Texas State donated to the project, with a minimum-wage requirement tied to inflation written into the incentive deal.
Ramirez turns the spaceport question back on itself. San Marcos isn't chasing a launch pad. “We are looking at that future of space. It is not necessarily launching rockets,” she tells McKenzie. “You can have it in Starbase, SpaceX, but that's not what we're looking for. But we can be part of the intelligence of creating that ecosystem.” Her reference point is Hawthorne, California: home to Raytheon, Boeing and Northrop Grumman. That's the side of aerospace she thinks Central Texas can build.
The numbers back up the pitch. A survey Ramirez's office ran itself, sent to 98 companies, came back with more than 90% reporting they were stable or growing and about 40% actively expanding. Epic Piping is adding 100 employees. Amazon keeps growing its footprint. Collins Aerospace, which also operates in California, told Ramirez business is better here. Nabaco, a company that came out of Texas State and went through a Rice University accelerator, now operates in Spain and still hires Texas State grad students. US Aviation trains active-duty Air Force cadets at the airport. Texas State is adding a hospitality program tied to the downtown hotel deal.
The clearest example of how the city operates: Ramirez's staff has direct access to the city's own permitting software. Texas Building Supply, on track for roughly $40 million a year in sales tax once it's fully ramped, with no incentive package attached, gets its permit questions answered in real time because her downtown manager can just look it up.
About The Building Texas Show
Justin McKenzie hosts The Building Texas Show. Each episode is one conversation with a developer, manufacturer, city official or university partner building something exciting in Texas.
Watch the full episode with Helen Ramirez now on YouTube: youtube.com/@thebuildingtexasshow
Media contact: Justin McKenzie, Email Contact
