Menger Creek Village presents Boerne with a land-use trade-off: Terramark Ventures says apartments are essential to support the shops and restaurants it envisions, while planning commissioners have questioned the scale of the proposed rental housing. The Houston-based firm wants to transform 29 acres along Main Street just south of downtown into a mixed-use village modeled on San Antonio's Pearl, with a public trail, parkland and hundreds of apartments.
The 29-acre property, about a mile south of downtown Boerne and split by Suggs Creek, is the focus of the proposal, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Terramark did not specify the number of apartments it ultimately plans to build. Its concept includes shops, restaurants, a trail system and parkland, with residents able to reach amenities without needing a car.
Terramark executive Joel Scott compared the concept to a scaled-down version of the Pearl, the San Antonio mixed-use development built around the historic Pearl Brewery complex. The comparison is a lofty one: the Pearl's redevelopment transformed a brewery site that Lake Flato describes as 21 acres, though the San Antonio Report puts the figure at 18 acres, into what Lake Flato calls a self-sufficient, pedestrian-oriented village.
What a Pearl-Style Buildout Could Look Like
The scale of what the Pearl eventually became offers a sense of what Terramark may be aiming for, even at a fraction of the size. Lake Flato notes the finished Pearl complex balanced 432 residential units with 121,000 square feet of office space, 53,000 square feet of retail, 56,000 square feet of restaurants and meeting and culinary space. Today the Pearl is home to two dozen restaurants connected by a network of small roads, per the same report.
Terramark estimated that Menger Creek Village could add $100 million to Boerne's property tax rolls and generate significant sales tax revenue for the city and Kendall County, the Express-News reported. Scott also acknowledged that the project would likely need significant economic incentives from the city or other sources to be financially viable.
Commissioners Push Back on Apartment Density
According to the Express-News, Scott told commissioners the project would likely have 45 residential units per acre. He argued that apartments are critical to a successful mixed-use project because more residents would help activate the commercial side.
Commissioners questioned whether the project could instead include fewer, more expensive units built for purchase rather than rent, the Express-News reported. Susan Friar said 250 units packed onto five acres could be a deal killer for the proposal as currently envisioned.
The Express-News also reported that Commissioner Lucas Hiler said he was not a fan of the developer's multifamily plan and raised concerns about its potential effect on small businesses along Boerne's Hill Country Mile. Mark Brown, a TerraMark partner who attended the meeting, said the project would require a team effort and full support from the city and community to move forward.
The Rules That Would Shape a Buildout
The City of Boerne’s Developers’ Handbook identifies the Unified Development Code as covering standards and procedures for zoning, platting, public improvements and project design. That describes the code’s scope, but the cited handbook information does not establish a site-specific residential density limit or which uses would be allowed on this parcel.
No Vote Yet, With a Committee Planned for December
The Planning and Zoning Commission did not take a vote on Menger Creek Village at the meeting. Instead, the commission plans to form a committee at its December meeting to continue discussing the project in more detail, the Express-News reported. Any final approval would still need to come from the Boerne City Council before the project could move forward.
