Municipal Tax District to Fund McCombs Development in San Antonio

McCombs Properties wants to honor its late founder, Red McCombs, who died in February, by creating a “timeless” development that would rival the Pearl District in San Antonio.

The company’s vision is closer to becoming reality since a recently passed law allows a special taxing district at the 6-acre development site along the River Walk, next to the San Antonio Museum of Art, the San Antonio Express News reported.

McCombs bought the property from CPS Energy for $30 million in January. Few details have been revealed about the company’s plans, but the site will comprise housing, offices, a hotel and public spaces. It will be a smaller-scale project than the historic Pearl District — one of the city’s top tourist attractions, which has a brewery, restaurants, hotels, retail and entertainment.

“We want it to be timeless, to be catalytic, to help change in a good way this particular stretch of Museum Reach, to be approachable by all types and to be well done,” Harry Adams, managing executive at McCombs Properties, told the outlet. “It’s part of Red’s legacy, in our eyes.”

The municipal management district comprises about 6 acres near the River Walk and allows property tax hikes — most likely covered by rent increases — to finance improvements such as sidewalks and streets. The district can also issue bonds.

Other sources of public funding exist, but a municipal management district is the best option for this particular development, Adams told the outlet. It will help provide “long-term sustainment” of the project with a funding source for traffic control, maintenance, supporting programming and other services.

The size, cost and timeline of the development was not disclosed.

—Quinn Donoghue