Auto giant Toyota is gearing up to pump $531.7 million into its San Antonio plant, a move set to ramp up the facility's size by more than 500,000 square feet and bring 41 new jobs to the area. These jobs are boasting a base hourly wage of $20.54, dialing in an average annual salary of $68,245. The expansion plans were disclosed in documents tied to the Bexar County Commissioners Court agenda, the San Antonio Report learned.
Bexar's bigwigs are huddling on Tuesday to hash out potential new perks for Toyota that could sweeten the deal even further. The proposed incentive package offers to completely abate real and personal property investments for a decade and chip in with a skills development grant worth up to $250,000. This comes as Toyota spokeswoman Kelly Stefanich confirmed the expansion, though she said the company had “nothing to announce” at present. She assured in a statement obtained by the San Antonio Report that they are “constantly evaluating our competitiveness and making decisions to support the potential for continued investments across our North American operations, helping to ensure our promise of long-term employment stability.”
Since cutting the ribbon on its $2.1 billion Southside plant back in 2006, Toyota has been a magnet for jobs and tax revenue in San Antonio, pulling in supplier companies and heavyweight manufacturers like Navistar and JCB. The facility has seen boosts from economic incentives before, notably in 2010 and 2019, tied to expansions for Tacoma production and general growth. With the plant's progressive evolution, Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, President and CEO of Greater:SATX, couldn't spill beans on the latest developments, citing a nondisclosure agreement, but underscored the nonprofit's strong commitment to Toyota's growth. "Since Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas first established its operations in our San Antonio community more than 20 years ago, we have been firmly committed to supporting their continued growth and success here,” she elucidated in an email statement.
The prospect of expansion is setting the stage to potentially mirror last year's economic triumph when JCB dropped a cool $266 million on a new facility. "We are right now shortlisted for a couple of deals actually around the size and scale of JCB, from a capital investment and jobs perspective,” Saucedo-Herrera told the San Antonio Report, stoking expectations of some hefty announcements possibly dropping this quarter. Adding fuel to the development fire, the San Antonio Zoning Commission is slated to review a request to rezone nearly 20,000 acres of property within a stone's throw from Toyota's plant, aiming to reconcile the coexistence of heavy industry with its commercial and homey neighbors.
