City Grill

Kirk Kistner
Vice President, Marketing and Business Development
Bartlett Cocke General Contractors

Construction is booming in San Antonio thanks to a multitude of new projects and initiatives, Kistner says. The city’s May 6 election was “very favorable” as it included the passage of an $850-million bond issue. “That was $445 million for horizontal streets, bridges, sidewalk improvements; $140 million in drainage and flood control; $187 million in parks, recreation and open space; and another $75 million in libraries, cultural facilities and public safety facilities,” he says.

The higher-education sector is healthy as well, with Alamo Colleges issuing $450 million in bonds for work at all five of their campuses. Texas A&M San Antonio has a $70-million project in the planning stages that will grow the campus from the current 6,000 students to more than 20,000 in the next 15-20 years, Kistner says.

In addition, University Health System is planning a new women’s and children’s hospital. “I believe they’ll be selecting architects and construction managers at-risk probably in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year,” he says. “That’s a $250-million endeavor.”