Massive Lemon Creek development is underway with H-E-B, apartments

A Texas developer bought 12 acres of the 118-acre development for apartments.

The H-E-B at the expansive Lemon Creek Ranch development is well underway on the far Northside of Bexar County.
Zachary-Taylor Wright

MYSA
By Zachary-Taylor Wright
Updated Oct 17, 2023 3:39 p.m.

The sprawling development in Bexar County just outside of the City of Fair Oaks Ranch has inched closer to becoming a reality after a Houston development company purchased roughly 12 acres to begin construction on an apartment complex. This is just the latest step in the construction of the multi-use, massive complex known as Lemon Creek Ranch, which is set to lay home to a brand-new Texas Hill Country H-E-B.

According to a memorandum of agreement between VEP Lemon Creek – the company created to manage and oversee the development – and the Houston-based Allen Harrison Company, the multi-family developer purchased 12.17 acres of the nearly 118-acre development site for the latest project. This is the second project to take off at the site, after the H-E-B broke ground, which by completion is expected to see 600-700 apartment units, about 120 hotel rooms, nearly 472,000 square feet of office space, and just short of 150,00 square feet of retail and restaurants.

“Lemon Creek Ranch transforms the final large contiguous piece of undeveloped frontage between San Antonio and Boerne, Texas, into a vibrant family-friendly hub of activity centered around the natural beauty of the local landscape,” the Lemon Creek Ranch website reads. “With two bodies of living water, dedicated green space, a trail system, and a curated mix of retail, dining, entertainment, and office, Lemon Creek Ranch cultivates fellowship and connectivity in a beautiful and relaxed live, work, and play atmosphere.”

Lemon Creek Boulevard
Courtesy of Valcor

According to the Allen Harrison Company website, the company is a privately held, multi-family developer and real-estate investment company founded in 2010 which focuses on the “acquisition, construction, and management of exceptional multi-family properties.” In its less than 15 years in existence, the company has purchased 26 properties totaling $485 million and developed 26 properties totaling $1.1 billion, according to the company’s website.

"We strive to embrace a culture founded in serving others while pursuing excellence, working together as one team, and enjoying the journey,” the company website reads. “We make it a priority to serve our team members first by supporting and encouraging growth, both personal and professional, in an effort to support their journey to become the best version of themselves.”

The sprawling hundred-acre Lemon Creek Ranch development entered a development and economic agreement with the City of San Antonio late in 2020, creating a Public Improvement District. The agreement allows the development to impose ad valorem, sales, and hotel-occupancy taxes and reserves the development’s right to issue tax bonds or debt to improve public facilities. As a result, the developers are looking at spending tens of millions on roadway, sewer, and parkland improvements.

The development is currently in Bexar County and the City of San Antonio’s extra-territorial jurisdiction – a set area that surrounds a city which is up for annexation – but the agreement between the Alamo City and the Lemon Creek development states the city won’t move to annex the properties until 2049. While the agreement with San Antonio serves both the developer and the municipality, the increase in population just outside the City of Fair Oaks Ranch has left many public officials in the are concerned about a boom in traffic on the rural city’s roads.