Boerne Buc-ee's development agreement updated, specifying store design
Following months of community discussion and concern, the Buc-ee’s development agreement is being updated.
Boerne City Council on Oct. 27 had an executive session discussion regarding agreement negotiations, followed by amendments that clarify store size, the number of jobs and compliance with city design standards.
Items added to the agreement include:
- No more than a 54,000-square-foot building
- No more than 100 fueling stations
- Prohibition of 18-wheelers, other than those servicing the store
- Confirmed 200 jobs
- Nine acres of dedicated open space
- Reduction of the sign to 60 feet, contingent on Buc-ee’s Way naming and I-10 signage
- 8-foot security fence near the property line
- Enhanced landscaping and planting areas
- DarkSky-compliant lighting
- HVAC condensation recovery and irrigation system
Morningside at Menger Springs expansion to bring 51 independent living units
Morningside Ministries is gearing up for the final expansion of Morningside at Menger Springs, adding 51 independent living units to the community. The project is expected to be completed in fall 2027.
Morningside Ministries is a nonprofit organization that started in 1959, providing retirement communities to the San Antonio area.
Morningside at Menger Springs opened in 2004 and has developed to offer independent living, assisted living, transitional care, memory care, long-term care and home health care.
Marketing Director Brooke Craig said the expansion, called The Vistas, will focus on adding independent living units.
This expansion follows a 2023 expansion, which added 74 terrace homes. Craig said these homes are ready to move in by February, and only four homes remain available.
Northside Community Park construction underway following Sept. 3 groundbreaking
Northside Community Park in Boerne officially broke ground Sept. 3, marking the beginning of the bond-funded project.
The park, which includes a skate park, trails and public restrooms, closed Aug. 22 to prepare for construction. Construction is expected to take 12-18 months to complete.
The nearly 40-acre, $16.5 million project will renovate the park to serve as a gathering place for the more than 700,000 people who visit Boerne’s green spaces each year, city staff said. The project is the largest parks and recreation development the city has undertaken.
The parkland was purchased as part of a 2007 bond election, according to city documents. Alongside city and 2022 bond funding, a $750,000 grant was awarded by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for construction of the park.
Planned amenities and improvements include:
- Multiuse fields with high-performance LED sports lighting
- Food court with restrooms, shade structures and picnic tables
- Family restrooms
- 12 pickleball courts with shade structure and LED lighting
- Basketball pavilion with two courts and LED lighting
- Splash pad
- All-inclusive playgrounds
- Dog park for small and large dogs
- Half-mile walking trail
- Loop roadway with head in parking and two parking lots, totalling 277 spaces
- Multiple low-impact development treatments
- Stormwater detention ponds
Over the summer, site work on the upcoming Baptist Health System expansion to Boerne began, clearing the way for construction of a new acute care hospital.
The hospital will be the first of its kind for the community, bringing inpatient services and specialized care to the 23-acre site at the northwest corner of I-10 and Hwy. 46.
While construction is not scheduled to begin until 2026, the new development will give Kendall County residents additional options for medical care.
Baptist Health System, owned by Tenet Healthcare, operates seven acute care hospitals in the San Antonio region.
Baptist Health System officials said the Boerne hospital will be similar in design to other acute care hospitals, such as the Westover Hills location, which opened in 2024.
The new hospital and adjoining medical office building will provide emergency and inpatient services, while increasing access to general surgery, cardiology, orthopedics and other services upon completion. The medical offices will offer physician practices and additional ancillary health care services, officials said.
Fair Oaks Ranch moves forward with decade-long housing project
After 12 years of planning, development and lawsuits, the Post Oak development, formerly known as The Reserve in Fair Oaks Ranch, is moving forward.
During the July 3 City Council meeting, the annexation of the property was unanimously approved, following the approval of an updated development agreement on May 20.
Previous iterations of the development resulted in several legal challenges between the previous developer and the city. With approval of a new development agreement, the updated project will feature larger lots, fewer buildings and additional incentives for the construction of Ammann Road near the property.
City Manager Scott Huizenga said the amended development agreement reduces the originally planned 645 homes to 278 custom lots. In the original development agreement from 2013, homes were on lots averaging around half an acre, while the new lots will have one-acre minimums.
