Another Major Step in Building America's 21st Century Technology Campus

Port Board of Directors greenlights next phase of Innovation Tower.

Iconic building will support ongoing growth of region’s advanced technology sectors and serve as a national example of “flight to quality” demand for prime office spaces.

03-18-2025

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BY PACO FELICI

Renderings by Pelli & Clarke Partners for Port San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — The Port San Antonio Board of Directors has unanimously given the go-ahead to take the next major step in the development of Innovation Tower, one of the most ambitious projects to date on the rapidly-growing Tech Port campus. The tower is a component of a broad innovation campus development strategy the organization unveiled in the fall of 2024.

On March 18, the Board approved $7.5 million to move the tower project from its preliminary phase to the finalization of architectural plans, budget and schedule. The design phase is expected to take about one year, with an eye toward breaking ground in 2026 and completion of the state-of-the-art facility by 2028.

Rendering of Innovation Tower planned at Port San Antonio.

“Today’s action by the Board of Directors underscores the role of this campus as a unique and exciting place that is connecting people to a world of opportunities,” said Port San Antonio Board Chair Margaret Wilson-Anaglia. “Rising high over Tech Port and visible for miles, the tower will be a unique beacon for this community and an additional calling card for our region as a fast-moving global capital of innovation.”

“Our Board’s leadership, guidance and support have been at the core of our team’s work to grow a very special place where thousands of people are already building their futures and where we will welcome thousands more in the years ahead,” said Port President and CEO Jim Perschbach. “We will get to work right away on the next phase of Innovation Tower and look forward to delivering a product that sets a new high standard in the spaces where people come together to write upcoming chapters in some of the world’s leading technologies.”

Lead architect Bill Butler of Pelli Clarke & Partners briefs the Port Board of Directors on March 18. Credit: Port San Antonio.

The building, whose conceptual design was revealed last year, will be a new iconic landmark for the region and a beacon for Port San Antonio’s 1,900-acre Tech Port campus. In recent years tenant customers at the Port have added over 9,000 new jobs, bringing the campus-wide total to 18,000 today.

Operations by Port customers are on the leading edge of innovations that include aerospace, cybersecurity, defense, advanced manufacturing, industrial robotics and space exploration. A wide range of educational partners also deliver programming at Tech Port, from STEM/STEAM curricula to advanced workforce development and professional training.

Rendering of Innovation Tower planned at Port San Antonio.

Spanning more than 10 million square feet of properties, existing buildings at Tech Port are nearing full occupancy. Among the highly specialized facilities are aircraft maintenance hangars, industrial buildings for advanced manufacturing, a force-protected perimeter for national defense operations and numerous offices that, like Innovation Tower, can accommodate cybersecurity labs and other secure functions.

The advancing Innovation Tower project comes on the heels of nearly 750,000 square-feet of new facilities built on the campus since 2017. These include two multi-tenant offices, an expansive commercial/industrial complex, a K-12 school operated by Compass Rose and a 130,000-square-foot innovation facility, the Boeing Center at Tech Port.

Interior (above) and exterior (below) enderings of terraces located at Innovation Tower.

The multi-story Innovation Tower, which will be located at the campus’ main entrance, will support growing demand by adding approximately 300,000 square feet of high-end office space. The tower will also include amenities for occupants, including a health and wellness center, sauna and spa-quality locker rooms and a large conference room.

Designed by world-renowned firm Pelli Clarke & Partners, with architect Bill Butler leading the project, the new tower will enable employers attract and retain top talent in their respective industries, as corporate office tenants worldwide continue the “flight to quality” trend.

Rendering of the main lobby inside Innovation Tower.

As planning for Innovation Tower is finalized, the Port continues to advance multiple projects across the campus. Together, they will bolster the work of more than 80 current tenant customers, support their growth and attract new enterprises to the community. Central to those plans is strategic support for the expansion of nationally important defense operations, including enhanced collaboration with private-sector and academic mission partners.

Those projects include a large childcare facility to serve military and civilian families, additional secure facilities for Air Force cybersecurity commands, a vertiport for the next-generation electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles and an array of retail and hospitality amenities for the on-campus population as well as the surrounding neighborhoods.

The planned facilities will further elevate the Tech Port campus’ standing as one of the world’s leading innovation destinations, a distinction it earned in 2024 from the Association of University and Research Parks (AURP).