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Future workers and visitors to Port San Antonio after 2028 could see what looks like a giant spaceship that has landed near the main entrance of its Southwest Side campus.
The planned sci-fi looking building projects what Port San Antonio is all about — future technologies and innovation. It has the perfect name too — Innovation Tower.
New York-based Pelli Clarke & Partners is the architectural firm behind the project.
Port San Antonio President and CEO Jim Perschbach said the $275 million, 12-story tower is in the design phase with a possible groundbreaking in 2026. It could be completed by 2028 if the project remains on track.
Perschbach said the planned tower is part of a major growth spurt at the former Kelly Air Force turned commercial enterprise.
"If you look at the past six or seven years ... we went from about $5.6 billion in output to $20 billion dollars a year in output," he said.
He added that the $1 billion in wages paid out by the port has grown to more than $5 billion in wages.
The port directly employs around 18,000 workers at 18 tenant companies on its 1,900-acre campus, including Boeing and StandardAero.
Those companies represent several industries, including aerospace, defense, global logistics, manufacturing, cybersecurity, education and more.
Perschbach said work continues to give the port a sense of community.
"We're really looking forward to continuing to amenitize this campus — things like daycare, grocery stores, healthcare clinics," he said.
The port is only one of two intermodal ports in Texas, meaning it provides air, ground, and rail routes for its tenant companies.
Over 80 tenant customers employ 19,000 people in this unique and fast-growing community. Together, they generate $20 billion in annual economic activity in our region and across the state of Texas.
