MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Welcome to the City of San Antonio Economic Development Department  (EDD)  portal. We are excited to share with you a few highlights and links that will help you stay connected to economic development in San Antonio. To stay abreast of the latest press releases, studies, reports, notices, and opportunities to comment please complete this contact form and we will send all the latest directly to your inbox.

The Military Transformation Task Force recently released an economic impact of all Department of Defense  activities in our great city further confirming our status as "Military City USA". Our department was commissioned to complete the study that required months of work to make this the most comprehensive economic impact study ever done on the military in San Antonio. For press coverage of the study and other noteworthy media please see our "SA in the Spotlight" section.

Several months ago, the Economic Development Department launched a Business Retention, Expansion (BRE) program designed to establish an open line of communication to the local business community  as part of the City of San Antonio's effort to be more pro-active in our support of our business community . The department has been proactively assisting existing businesses in resolving issues associated with new jobs and new investment in San Antonio. The initial program goal was to visit 100 medium to large businesses before the end of the year, and at 95% of its goal the Industry Development Division is finishing out the year strong with this new program. If your business is growing or considering expanding and would like to schedule a visit with Industry Development staff please complete this contact form and a staff member will contact you with more information.

The majority of business in San Antonio, and indeed most cities, are small businesses. In our effort to similarly reach out to smaller businesses in our city, we have engaged our small business unit to conduct a series of outreach activities which we call our Small Business Summits which are specifically designed to bring city and other entity services and business opportunities to those businesses. At those summits, information is presented to companies that are considering growth through government contracting or need access to growth capital. The Small Business Unit will be holding a series of summits throughout the year. For information on when and where these summits will take place visit our Small Business Event Calendar.

Finally, on a community development note, one of the tools the Economic Development Department uses for downtown and inner-city development is the Federal Empowerment Zone (EZ) program. The EZ has benefited business both large and small in the 20 square-mile central city area within its boundaries since 2001 when it was designated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program offers a  numerous tax  saving opportunities to spur job opportunities for residents and make business more profitable within the zone. In 2002 the City of San Antonio approved  Empowerment Zone financing to construct a hotel that would make our convention offerings more competitive nationwide. Nearing it's completion, the Grand Hyatt Convention Center Hotel is seeking residents who live in the Empowerment Zone (EZ) for employment opportunities. Some 18,000 residents living in the EZ area will soon receive job application information in the mail. 

We hope you will visit our site regularly to stay current on economic development in your community. If you have any questions or would like more information please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Sincerely,

Robert Peché
Director
City of San Antonio
Economic Development Department