Bexar County commissioners on Tuesday approved a multi-million-dollar grant for the equipment maker JCB to make public infrastructure improvements in support of its plant under construction on the South Side.
The funding is part of an economic development incentive package from Bexar County, San Antonio and state leaders worth almost $32 million that last year lured the Great Britain-based construction equipment manufacturer to San Antonio.
The agreement with Bexar County called for a grant of up to $5 million for the Kelly Parkway Extension project and installing a water main extension along Applewhite Road.
Commissioners voted for the highest possible value in approving the grant.
In April, City Council approved tax abatements and incentives worth $13.74 million. Bexar County provided a package valued at roughly $12 million.
JCB is the world’s largest privately-owned construction and agricultural equipment maker and broke ground on the factory in June. The company is building a 72,000-square-foot facility at a 400-acre site at Palo Alto Road and South Zarzamora Street on the South Side.
The plant will employ 1,500 workers within five years, jobs that pay an hourly wage of at least $20.54, which is the minimum set by the city as a qualification for economic development incentives.
Openings for skilled trades and engineering jobs will be posted to the JCB website and recruiting will start in mid-2025, said a spokeswoman, who has not yet commented regarding the grant.
“This facility is part of JCB’s $500 million commitment to the region and reflects our focus on supporting the growing demand for advanced construction equipment in North America,” according to a previous statement from JCB shared by spokeswoman Arielle Windham. “The state-of-the-art facility will focus on producing telescopic handlers and mobile elevating work platforms, with initial production slated to begin by mid-2026.”
The Kelly Parkway extension would span from State Highway 16 to Applewhite Road, along what is now South Zarzamora Street and Walsh Road, according to maps provided by the county’s economic community development department.
City leaders have envisioned Kelly Parkway as a major thoroughfare, similar to Wurzbach Parkway, cutting across Southwest San Antonio to support heavy manufacturing and truck traffic in the region.
Talk of a Kelly Parkway goes back as far as 1997 and a Southwest San Antonio Mobility Study that proposed linking Loop 410 to Kelly Crossroads with related projects estimated at $50.6 million.
