Youth Orchestras of San Antonio is turning the former Shearer Hills Baptist Church and its attached charter school at 802 Oblate Drive into something very different from Sunday services: the organization’s first-ever permanent campus. Construction is already underway, with organizers eyeing a move-in around this time next year. The plan reuses the church’s octagonal sanctuary and adds classrooms, practice rooms and a parents’ lounge so multiple ensembles can rehearse at once. The campus is expected to serve as a central hub for rehearsals, classes and community performances.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, YOSA has already raised a little more than $10 million toward what leaders describe as a roughly $15 million campaign. The outlet reported that the campus, described there as about 52,000 square feet, will be large enough for three orchestras to rehearse at the same time. A public “demo day” is set for Friday, when supporters including Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and District 8 City Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez are expected to symbolically smash a wall to kick things off.
From Sanctuary to Campus
State project filings add more detail to the renovation timeline and scope. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation lists the work as the “Youth Orchestras of San Antonio Rehearsal Center Renovations” at 802 Oblate Drive, with a March 2, 2026 start date and a Dec. 2, 2026 completion date. According to that filing, roughly 36,461 square feet of space will be renovated with an estimated $9 million budget focused on accessibility and interior upgrades.
Before YOSA came along, commercial property listings were marketing the site as a nearly 50,000-square-foot campus with an auditorium and plenty of parking, per LoopNet. Neighbors say they were kept informed as plans evolved. The Shearer Hills/Ridgeview Neighborhood Association posted that YOSA had purchased the old charter-school building and formally welcomed the nonprofit as a new neighbor.
YOSA will remain a resident company at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, and the organization’s website, YOSA, lists 11 orchestras and ensembles, noting that the group serves thousands of young people across the region. The Tobin Center’s resident-company page, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, lists YOSA among its partners, underscoring that the new campus is meant to complement the group’s downtown performance home rather than replace it.
What Owning a Building Will Change
“It will enable us to expand programming,” Music Director Troy Peters said, describing plans to shift from cramming rehearsals into Sunday afternoons to offering classes and sessions throughout the week, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News. YOSA leaders say dedicated rehearsal, teaching and small-performance spaces should simplify life for families with multiple musicians and open the door for other local arts groups to use parts of the campus.
Organizers plan to keep fundraising until they reach the full campaign goal while crews finish out the interior. Once renovations wrap, the campus is expected to host classes, community ensembles and smaller performances, alongside YOSA’s major concerts at the Tobin Center. Demo day will offer supporters an early look at the transformation while the organization gets the new home base ready for next year’s programming.
