The Port San Antonio Board of Directors has unanimously given the go-ahead to take the next major step in the development of Innovation Tower, one of the most ambitious projects to date on the rapidly growing Tech Port campus. The tower is a component of a broad innovation campus development strategy the organization unveiled in the fall of 2024.
The Board approved $7.5 million to move the tower project from its preliminary phase to the finalization of architectural plans, budget, and schedule. The design phase is expected to take about one year, with an eye toward breaking ground in 2026 and completion of the state-of-the-art facility by 2028.
“Today’s action by the Board of Directors underscores the role of this campus as a unique and exciting place that is connecting people to a world of opportunities,” Port San Antonio Board Chair Margaret Wilson-Anaglia said. “Rising high over Tech Port and visible for miles, the tower will be a unique beacon for this community and an additional calling card for our region as a fast-moving global capital of innovation.”
The building, whose conceptual design was revealed last year, will be a new iconic landmark for the region and a beacon for Port San Antonio’s 1,900-acre Tech Port campus. In recent years, tenant customers at the Port have added over 9,000 new jobs, bringing the campus-wide total to 18,000 today.
Operations by Port customers are on the leading edge of innovations that include aerospace, cybersecurity, defense, advanced manufacturing, industrial robotics and space exploration. A wide range of educational partners also deliver programming at Tech Port, from STEM/STEAM curricula to advanced workforce development and professional training.
Spanning more than 10 million square feet of properties, existing buildings at Tech Port are nearing full occupancy. Among the highly specialized facilities are aircraft maintenance hangars, industrial buildings for advanced manufacturing, a force-protected perimeter for national defense operations and numerous offices that, like Innovation Tower, can accommodate cybersecurity labs and other secure functions.
The multi-story Innovation Tower, which will be located at the campus’ main entrance, will support growing demand by adding approximately 300,000 square feet of high-end office space. The tower will also include amenities for occupants, including a health and wellness center, sauna and spa-quality locker rooms, and a large conference room.
Designed by world-renowned firm Pelli Clarke & Partners, with architect Bill Butler leading the project, the new tower will enable employers attract and retain top talent in their respective industries.
As planning for Innovation Tower is finalized, the Port continues to advance multiple projects across the campus. Together, they will bolster the work of more than 80 current tenant customers, support their growth and attract new enterprises to the community. The planned facilities will further elevate the Tech Port campus’ standing as one of the world’s leading innovation destinations, a distinction it earned in 2024 from the Association of University and Research Parks (AURP).
Source: San Antonio Port (Edited by subcusa.com)
