SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County commissioners and San Antonio City Council members have signed off to approve millions of dollars in incentives to help Credit Human Federal Credit Union relocate downtown.
The local company’s headquarters will be on Broadway across from the Pearl and will be developed by Silver Ventures, which owns the Pearl.
A construction zone on 1803 Broadway will become home to a 10-story office building for Credit Human that will also house retail space and a parking garage.
“These are all public improvements, so it’s sidewalks, trees, a pocket park. We’re doing bike lanes,” District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino said.
The City Council approved incentives Thursday that will be a reimbursement for those improvements. The city said Credit Human will get a 10-year, 100 percent tax abatement from the city and a five-year tax rebate. Combined, the two will not exceed $5.9 million.
“Urban sprawl is not sustainable, so incentivizing the growth of the urban core is critical to the growth of a city or the proper growth of a city,” Trevino said.
Some council members questioned whether incentives were needed to attract businesses to an area that has already seen such a popular turnaround.
“I love the Pearl. It’s a great development. The Broadway corridor has received enough,” District 6 Councilman Greg Brockhouse said. “I think it’s time we take a step back and we realize we need to take some of those opportunities and take them to the West Side, Edgewood, into District 2 on the East Side, like we did with Red Berry.”
Credit Human will retain 435 jobs when it moves downtown and will create 50 new high-paying positions with annual salaries over $60,000.
Even with the incentives, the city expects to make money on the development from other tax revenues and utilities.
“The net benefit to the city over the term of the agreement is going to be well over $7.7 million,” said Rene Dominguez, director of the economic development department.
Earlier this week, county commissioners approved a 75 percent tax abatement for Credit Human. There is no timeline for when the project is expected to be completed.
