2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
Developing
Projected POPULATION Population growth in South Central Texas is projected to continue its upward trend as economic development and its position along the I-35 corridor bring in more jobs and opportunities.
NEW BRAUNFELS The city of New Braunfels anticipates having over 85% of the land within city limits developed through both commercial and residential development by 2034. Certain areas of the city are not available for private development, such as oodways, ood plains and land owned by public agencies.
Travis County
Hays County
Comal County Guadalupe County Bexar County
2.63M: increase of 31.5% from 2020
0 200K 400K 600K 800K 1M 1.2M 1.4M 1.6M 1.8M 2M 2.2M 2.4M 2.6M 2.8M
DEVELOPABLE ACRES
1.75M: increase of 35.66% from 2020
23% or 5,800 net available acres is what the city of New Braunfels estimates is left of the 25,000 acres of land within the city limits.
518,515: increase of 115.1% from 2020
PERCENTAGE OF DEVELOPABLE LAND USED undeveloped land developed land
290,856: increase of 80.1% from 2020
66.8%
2020
259,920: increase of 50.5% from 2020
2020 2025
2030 2035
2040 2045
2050 2055
2060
73.5%
2025*
SOURCE: TEXAS DEMOGRAPHIC CENTER COMMUNITY IMPACT
80.2%
2029*
“My hope is that in the process, the two cities become better versions of themselves and specif- ically San Antonio continues to grow into a more inclusively prosperous place that retains its unique cultural heritage,” Nirenberg said. Nirenberg said he would also like the city to look toward connectivity between the east and west sides. “With progress on the north-south line well underway, it’s time to look even further into the future and plot a course for a corridor connecting East and West San Antonio—and elevate the poten- tial of historically underserved areas,” he said. As Austin and San Antonio continue to thrive and prosper, the cities in between must race to keep up with demand. Jonathan Packer, president and CEO of the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks the Austin-San Antonio region has a lot of the characteristics that make up a strong metro- plex, such as two international airports, highway connection and economic development in unique business sectors. “I think one other hallmark that’s really import- ant where we have more work to do is just on the general collaboration between the two cities and
the other cities in the region,” Packer said. “So I think that’s an area that—as we look to the future— cities learning to work together more intentionally and collaboratively as a region is the next wave that I look forward to seeing.” Traversed by and adjacent to the I-35 corridor are Hays and Caldwell counties, which are overseen by the Greater San Marcos Partnership. “All the communities within those two counties are all partners in the [GSMP], so our intent is to bring the jobs, and for the last three years … we have basically been breaking every record the orga- nization’s ever set in terms of hitting that mission,” GSMP President and CEO Jason Giulietti said. The GSMP has brought in more than $2 billion of new investments to its communities, which directly translates to thousands of jobs, Giulietti said. A thriving New Braunfels With the tremendous growth in the county, the city of New Braunfels has seen signi cant economic and residential development as well as transporta- tion and infrastructure improvements. Comal County was named the second fastest-grow- ing county in the nation in the 2020 census with a 48.9% increase in population from 2010.
86.8%
2034*
SOURCE: CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS COMMUNITY IMPACT *PROJECTED
The population of Comal County is projected to reach over 290,000 by 2060, and Guadalupe County will climb to nearly 260,000 in the same time frame, according to the TDC. Packer said New Braunfels has seen a shift in its demographics that allows the city to achieve things not attainable in the past. “What we’ve seen is that our population growth has been tremendously concentrated with a highly educated workforce in their prime working years with children in schools,” Packer said. Matney said the city of New Braunfels has helped in uence the growth of the area by making sure developers have transportation plans and major thoroughfares, walkability and amenities that meet the needs of the community. According to the city, about 87% of the 25,000 acres in the city limits are projected to be devel- oped by 2034. “From a trend perspective, that should inform a lot about what we could expect to see,” Packer said. “We should expect to see a higher percent- age of projects that are redevelopment projects, as opposed to projects that stretch your city boundaries.”
“I THINK WHEN I 35 TRAVERSES YOUR CITY, YOU’RE SORT OF PRIMED FOR GROWTH. I THINK THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS IS SEEING A LARGE AMOUNT OF GROWTH WITHIN THE LAST 10 TO 20 YEARS. AND A LOT OF THOSE CITIES ON THE I 35 CORRIDOR … HAVE SEEN SOME RAPID DEVELOPMENT.”
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
JORDAN MATNEY, NEW BRAUNFELS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
25
NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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