Infrastructure work on the $26.8 million Schertz Main Street revitalization project will begin in the summer, replacing aging water and sewer lines before moving onto street and aesthetics items. Main Street businesses are also along for the ride, gaining access to matching grant opportunities and other financial incentives.
Along with making Main Street functional with infrastructure, the planned beautification of the area includes a welcome monument on both east and west sides as well as decorative paneling.
The two plans are working in tandem to bring Main Street up to speed alongside commercial growth in other sections of the city.
The overview
The Main Street incentive area stretches from Curtiss Avenue to Schertz Parkway, with the city using it to stimulate business and commercial activities. The area encompasses programs like the Local Flavor Economic Development Program and the Preservation Incentive Program.
The city began investing more into Main Street in 2022, when Schertz City Council approved $3.5 million in certificates of obligation for Main Street improvements. Certificates of obligation are funding for public works projects that do not require voter approval. In August 2022, the city created an empowerment zone for the area, waiving certain fees associated with startup business costs.
In September 2022, council approved Kimley-Horn Associates Inc. for work and design services on infrastructure improvements. Kimley-Horn presented the city with a preliminary engineering design concept for street and utility work in January 2024.
The refined design concept Kimley-Horn brought forth added items like maximizing street drainage and proposed bulb-outs at Randolph Avenue and Williams Street intersections. A bulb-out is better known as a curb extension, a narrowing of the roadway to create a safer environment for pedestrians.
Schertz’s Main Street is also welcoming more businesses into the area with spots like Americana Coffee & Espresso Bar and The Purple Pig BBQ, which opened in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Other businesses that joined Main Street’s portfolio include Unified Jiu Jitsu and No Mames Tacos, which opened in 2024.
Demetric Herron, co-owner of The Purple Pig BBQ, has been in business with the restaurant since 2021 after operating a successful food truck on Main Street. Herron said he wants to bring a “hometown niche” and feels the city’s plan echoes this.
“I think it’ll give back that hometown feel to the community, where people [are] able to walk and shop and do things like that,” Herron said.
Explained
Coupled with its Main Street Improvements Project, council member Tim Brown said the city of Schertz is also providing economic incentives to bring businesses into the area.
One of the financial tools available to businesses is the Local Flavor Economic Development Program, which provides a dollar-for-dollar match on grants up to $40,000 over a five-year period. Grants available through the program include a systems grant for infrastructure improvements, a site improvement grant for items like landscaping and outdoor settings, and a signage improvement grant for both new signs and renovation of existing ones.
The Preservation Incentive Program is another incentive that matches funds up to $20,000 per property for renovations to existing historic structures. Deputy City Manager Brian James said this program is for longtime businesses to cover upkeep expenses.
"We want to make sure that we don’t lose structures to neglect,” James said.
About 20 properties have taken advantage of the different grant types offered from the Preservation Incentive Program, James said. Council member Brown added that there is nothing in big amounts, just funding to encourage businesses to stay viable.
The grant programs are working alongside the Main Street Neighborhood Empowerment Zone to waive fees for businesses coming into the area. Scott Wayman, Schertz Economic Development Corporation executive director, said his organization also assists in the fee-waiving process.
Digging deeper
City officials told Community Impact that Main Street has been a discussion point for many years, with the infrastructure and incentives giving entrepreneurs a better space to operate their businesses. Brian James said development off FM 3009 and I-35 are “typical development” as opposed to Main Street ideally being something with “that unique Schertz character to it.”
The city’s Main Street Improvements Project—which is slated to be completed by fall 2027—is also working in tandem with the aforementioned grant programs to encourage economic growth.
Assistant City Engineer John Nowak said aging water and sanitary sewer lines will be replaced, and additional sidewalks will improve pedestrian safety downtown.
The electrical provider on the project—Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative—will also make overhead line replacements and upgrades along Exchange Avenue this summer. The $26.8 million project is currently in its design phase. Upon 60% completion, the city will be able to finalize its water and sewer line replacement plans.
The design of the project will cost approximately $2.17 million and construction is anticipated to cost $24.6 million.
Nowak said drivers will begin to see construction on the sewer and water lines this summer.
After the sewer and water line replacement phase, the city will turn to a full depth reconstruction from Lindbergh Avenue to Schertz Parkway, including adding new curbs and maximizing street drainage.
In their own words
"I think that’s the intent for us, is to make that area around Main Street something that we can be very proud of, and people will want to come and they’ll want to hang out," Scott Wayman, Schertz Economic Development Corporation Executive Director said.
"We want to make sure that we phase it in a way that we’re able to minimize the impact on those businesses," Brian James, Schertz Deputy City Manager said.
