FAQs - Retail

  • How much area will be dedicated to retail?

    The Trailhead at Helotes will feature 5 acres with frontage along Bandera road that will be completely dedicated to park-like community retail.

    The retail portion of the project will also have ~240 parking spaces. The parking will be sensitively tucked away and separated by generously placed tree peninsulas to encourage an outdoor, hill country, feel.

  • What kind of retail will be included?

    We have had numerous interest from a dog park bar operator that intends to build a dog park bar and play area for kids. The space will be primarily outdoors and there will be food and drinks. We are currently dedicating about 2 acres towards this use. We also have a section north of the pickleball courts that will be dedicated for use as a fitness lawn. We intend to attract a local fitness instructor and a coffee shop while also having some spaces for food trucks. In the northern corner of the property we intend to attract a local restaurant for an upscale sit-down dining concept.

  • Will the pickleball courts be open to the public?

    The pickleball courts will be open to the public. The courts will be designed for open play to support a community building atmosphere. Pickleball players will also be able to get food and drink at the food trucks or at the dog park bar and playground area.

  • How do we know if the retail will be unique as shown in the plans?

    The luxury residents need amenities, as well. Regardless of who the ultimate retail tenant is, we intend to build a large dog park and pickleball courts for their use and the public’s use. We intend to lease the bar and food area to a local operator to encourage a dynamic community atmosphere while also providing the project with additional revenue.

  • How many miles of walking trails will be included?

    We intend to build a 1-mile walking trail system that will be accessible to the public. The walking trail will weave through the planned 40’ tree buffers surrounding the property and fronting Bandera Road. There will also be a 6’ walking trail that cuts through the 20’ tree buffer that separates the retail from the residential use.

  • How will the retail be pedestrian oriented?

    Some of the most popular spots in the San Antonio area have great pedestrian retail. Gruene in New Braunfels has a large parking area tucked away that allows residents to park and then walk around the historic area with minimal traffic. The Pearl in San Antonio has parking clustered under highway 281 that allows visitors to leave their cars and then enter a pleasant pedestrian space. Our site plan clusters the parking spaces behind the retail and has the retail front our trail system along Bandera Road. This will allow residents to enjoy the outdoor areas, uninhibited by cars.

 FAQs

  • The residences will be designed with a hill country aesthetic (see the renderings to the right).

  • The residential buildings will be a mix of two and three stories. The three stories will be towards the center of the property and the two stories will be along the edges closer to the 40’ tree preservation buffer and greenway trail system. The three story buildings will be a maximum height of 45’ and the two story buildings will have a maximum height of 35’.

  • The residential buildings will be located more than 300’ away from Bandera Road. The buildings will be secluded with two tree preservation buffers. The first is a 40’ buffer along Bandera and the second will be a 20’ buffer behind the retail.

  • The site is 21 acres and the residential density will be a maximum of 17 housing units per acre. The units will clustered and sensitively located to maximize tree preservation and to maximize the space for public amenities. The density of 17 units per acre is far less than other cities. For example, San Antonio allows 33 housing units per acre and New Braunfels allows up to 24 housing units per acre.

  • We are targeting a parking ratio of 1.6 spaces per housing unit. This is more parking than required by similar municipalities. San Antonio, for example requires just 1.5 spaces per unit. We think a 1.6 ratio provides enough spaces for residents and guests while also allowing us to preserve more trees and provide more public amenities.

  • We are targeting young professionals and empty nesters that are willing to pay a premium to live in luxury residences located in a Hill Country setting. Our residents will be attracted to the amenities and numerous places to eat and drink in the immediate area.

  • The project site is at a much lower elevation than the residences on Bar X Trail. Some of the residences on Bar X Trail sit over 100’ above the site. The top of our tallest building will on average sit ~40’ below the average elevation of residences on Bar X Trail.

FAQs - Zoning and City Process

Why do you need a PUD for the project?

The current zoning is general business (B-3). It is intended for heavier business use and does not allow a mix of residential and commercial. There are many parcels zoned B-3 in Helotes. Some examples include the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 12550 Leslie Rd, the Taco Bell located at 12360 Leslie Rd, the Autozone located at 12733 Bandera Rd, the Burger King located at 13045 Bandera Rd, and the CVS Pharmacy located at 12980 Bandera Rd.

Why is the PUD more desirable for Helotes than the B-3 Zoning?

The existing zoning allows business uses, but most of the time the businesses that are able to take advantage of the land and development costs are big-box stores and fast food chains. We believe Helotes wants more local businesses that can contribute to its charm and character rather than out-of-town businesses that are not as invested in the community.

Can you do the retail without the residential?

Unfortunately, the retail cannot be developed without the residential. Right now there is an overwhelming demand for housing in San Antonio, Texas, and the United States in general. The residential piece of the project is the economic driver of the project. It anchors the retail and makes it possible.

Many pure retail centers are anchored by a large corporate “anchor tenant”. Think of your shopping centers with Target, Wal-Mart, etc. The Wal-Mart is the anchor tenant and the rest of the retail sprouts up around it. The banks are happy because they have a big corporate credit worthy tenant that they know will pay the rent.

In our case, the “anchor” is the residential use. It makes the nice community retail financeable and possible. It also helps to attract local small businesses because there will be residents nearby that can enjoy their services.

How will this impact our school districts and our tax dollars?

We believe this project will have a positive, sustainable, long-term impact on the school district and the citizen’s tax dollars. First, only 10% of our proposed units are 3 bedroom units that are most attractive to young families. This means we are primarily catering the residential use to young professionals (who like studios and 1 bedrooms) and empty nesters (who usually like 2 bedrooms). Young professionals and empty nesters are typically not a huge burden on school districts. The project will be a significant tax revenue source for the school district and the City of Helotes. Currently, the project is projected to provide an additional $800,000 per year to NISD and is projected to provide an additional $200,000 per year to the City of Helotes. This does not include sales tax revenue that can be generated from the retail use. That sustainable revenue source could pay for a lot of teachers, firefighters, and police officers.

Will the proposed PUD generate more traffic than the B-3 Zoning?

It is very likely that the existing B-3 zoning would generate a much more significant amount of traffic than our PUD. Some big-box stores need 1,000-1,200 parking spaces. According to the Institute of Traffic Engineers, residential uses generate a significantly lower amount of traffic than some of the more common commercial uses. Please click here for a link to the ITE Common Trip Generation Rates Table.

What about crime?

The residential component is going to be very high end and will command some of the highest $/sf prices and rental rates in the City. The attractive amenities: pickleball, 1-mile walking trail, local restaurants, dog park bar and beer garden, and the playground for kids will make this a dynamic development that will be attractive to young professionals and empty nesters. We will also have on-site professional management and security so we believe the project will be extremely safe and secure.

Is this more sustainable than a big box retail use alone?

We think this will be much more sustainable and provide long term benefits to the community. There are so many examples of Big Box stores just deciding to shut down a store and then leaving a giant empty shell of a building behind. This happens because they follow the growth and their real estate investments are just a small part of their corporate business model. We think our mixed-use project with local retail and with residential units will be much more sustainable in the long run.

Why support us?

We think we have a good case for our project and we think it will be much more desirable than what could happen with the B-3 Zoning.

Please take a look at our “Why Support Us?” page for more information.