DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Rene Dominguez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 2
SUBJECT:
Texas Research and Technology Foundation's establishment of the VelocityTX bio and life sciences innovation center and the redevelopment of the Merchant's Ice complex.
SUMMARY:
Staff is requesting City Council approval of two items relating to the redevelopment of the Merchant's Ice complex and the establishment of the VelocityTX bio and life sciences innovation center:
(A) A performance-based Chapter 380 EDIF Grant Agreement with TRTF valued at up to $750,000 over five years for the development of VelocityTX, a nonprofit organization dedicated to attracting companies in the tech, bio, and life sciences industries, stimulating company formation and research, leveraging local industry assets, and creating high-wage, high-skill jobs.
(B) Staff is also seeking City Council approval for a TIRZ Development Agreement in the amount of up to $5 million over seven years to offset the cost of public improvements made to the Merchant's Ice complex located at 1304 and 1305 East Houston St in Council District 2.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Founded in 1984, the Texas Research and Technology Foundation (TRTF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on life science and technology-based economic development in San Antonio, with an emphasis on emerging technologies and commercialization. The organization owns and operates the Texas Research Park (TRP), located in the City's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) in west Bexar County, and since 2010, has provided technical assistance to bio and tech companies and has invested in startup companies through the McDermott Pre-Seed Fund. In recent years, TRTF has been monetizing the remaining TRP acreage and repurposing proceeds to develop a planned community incubator/ accelerator for emerging tech companies.
In August 2017, TRTF acquired the 4-acre Merchant's Ice complex at 1305 E. Houston Street and the surface lot acros...
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