County advances negotiations for a major supply-chain project

The Bexar County Commissioners Court has authorized staff to negotiate a tax abatement package to support a substantial expansion at H-E-B’s Foster Road distribution campus on San Antonio’s East Side. The county moved unanimously to open talks for a roughly $15 million incentive tied to a multi-phase project that H-E-B says will strengthen regional manufacturing and logistics capacity.

The company has outlined plans for new production and distribution facilities, including a bakery, a refrigerated warehouse, a trailer return center and additional manufacturing space. H-E-B’s filings and public presentations describe an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars — generally reported as around $700 million (with some reports listing $636 million) — and the creation of several hundred immediate jobs with further hiring over the next decade.

What the proposal includes and the fiscal terms

County staff from the Economic and Community Development Department are negotiating an agreement that would provide a 10-year, 85% tax abatement on qualifying real and personal property improvements at the Foster Road site. The department estimates the tax break’s value at just over $15 million, and commissioners agreed to let staff continue discussions and return with final terms for approval.

The incentive request is intended to help offset infrastructure and site improvements, including upgrades to the local sewer system and other utilities that enable the enlarged campus to operate at scale. H-E-B officials say those investments support faster construction timelines and allow the company to bring facilities online sooner.

Phases, scale and timeline

H-E-B describes the first phases as the new bakery plant, refrigerated storage and a returned-goods center. Construction could begin later in the year, and some new facilities might be operational within a few years, according to company briefings. The existing Foster Road campus already includes large-scale distribution buildings added since 2018 and 2026.

Initial company materials forecast the creation of about 720 new jobs tied to the expansion, with the potential to scale up to roughly 1,200–1,232 additional full-time positions across future phases through 2038, depending on how the project grows and demand evolves.

Wages, benefits and county guidelines

A central point in the discussion was pay levels. H-E-B reported a base hourly wage for sanitation roles at the new campus of about $18.23 an hour, which falls below Bexar County’s usual tax-abatement guideline threshold. The county guideline generally expects either a minimum of $20.18 per hour for all facility employees or that 70% of employees earn at least $21.34 per hour.

H-E-B emphasized that the base wage for some roles does not reflect the company’s full compensation package. Executives noted an average annual wage near $53,000 across the new positions, with top workers reaching up to $30 per hour in certain roles. Company officials also highlighted a broad benefits package — medical, dental, vision, paid time off, incentive pay, retirement savings, an employee stock plan and assistance programs — and said the firm purposely kept sanitation work in-house so those roles would have access to benefits.

How commissioners evaluated the request

Supporters on the bench cited H-E-B’s local roots and long track record of investment and community aid. Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez pointed to the value of supporting companies that already contribute to the county’s economy, while County Judge Peter Sakai referenced H-E-B’s disaster relief efforts in Texas as part of the company’s community role.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody, who has previously emphasized fiscal scrutiny, supported the exception to the wage guideline, arguing that the total compensation and benefits justify flexibility. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores used the moment to press for better access to grocery options and a wider range of products on the South Side, urging H-E-B to consider store placement and product variety for underserved neighborhoods.

Context and implications for East Bexar County

H-E-B’s Foster Road campus has been a significant component of the company’s Texas manufacturing and distribution network since the site’s acquisition and subsequent development. County economic staff say the proposed incentive is intended to secure long-term industrial investment and to anchor job growth on the East Side, where large projects can influence surrounding commercial activity.

Negotiations will continue between county staff and H-E-B; when a final agreement is drafted it will return to the Commissioners Court for formal approval. If completed, the package would represent another example of local incentives used to support expansion by a major regional employer in San Antonio.