H-E-B to open new store on the far West Side

H-E-B confirmed it is planning to open a new store on the far West Side. H-E-B confirmed it is planning to open a new store on the far West Side. Photo: Karen Warren /Staff Photographer Photo: Karen Warren /Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close H-E-B to open new store on the far West Side 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

H-E-B is planning to open a store on the far West Side — a fast-growing slice of Bexar County.

The $15.4 million, 111,553-square-foot store and parking lot will be built at 14325 Potranco Rd., according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).

Spokesperson Julie Bedingfield confirmed the San Antonio-based retailer is adding a store in the area and said it expects to break ground early next year. Construction is anticipated to wrap up in June, the TDLR filing indicates.

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The site is at Potranco Road, Texas 211 and Stevens Parkway. H-E-B bought 26 acres at the intersection in 2017 from subsidiaries of Houston-based Weingarten Realty. Nearly 24 of those acres received an agricultural appraisal; the land’s market value is $4.2 million but its appraised value is $2,050, according to the Bexar Appraisal District.

Weingarten is working on a 2,400-acre master-planned community at the intersection called Stevens Ranch, and site plans show an H-E-B store.

The firm’s regional director of development in 2017 said Weingarten was trying to finalize a deal with a grocery chain to build on the land but declined to name the retailer.

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H-E-B is also planning to construct two retail buildings and a parking lot at Potranco Road and Texas 211 as well as a gas station and car wash, other TDLR filings indicate.

Bedingfield said the retailer will be leasing retail space but didn’t elaborate, noting more details would be available in the coming months.

Activity on the far West Side slowed in the wake of the housing crisis, but investors are expecting the area to become San Antonio’s next hot spot. They point to its attractive school districts, new housing, lack of environmental regulations that limit development on the far North Side and upgrades expanding and extending the local highways.

There’s plenty of land and lots, drawing people farther out, said Jack Inselmann, regional director at Metrostudy, an analytics firm that assesses the local market.

The number of new homes started in the area has risen from 600 to 1,500 over the last eight years, he said.

“It’s continued to grow over the last few years and it’s moving at a pretty good pace right now,” he said.

madison.iszler@express-news.net