Making a Difference in San Antonio, Texas

“We are always learning, and I am grateful for our partners in this journey. These experts have pushed my thinking on ways to make this process even better for our community. I value their insight and look forward to our continued work with them.”

San Antonio ISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino

“San Antonio Board of Realtors is committed to serving our community and we are proud to have been able to assist SAISD in pursuing and receiving this valuable opportunity. We understand the importance of making sound strategic and financial decisions for the benefit of SAISD, and we are happy that they could extensively utilize the expertise of The Counselors without tapping into any taxpayer resources.”

Gilbert S. Gonzalez, President and CEO, San Antonio Board of REALTORS®

Clients: The San Antonio Independent School District (ISD) is the central urban district in the City of San Antonio (within Bexar County), which has been serving students since 1903. San Antonio ISD serves about 47,000 students across more than 90 schools. The San Antonio Board of Realtors® (SABOR) is made up of more than 15,000 Realtor® members. Through Transforming Neighborhoods, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) partnered with The Counselors of Real Estate® Consulting Corps and issued a call for proposals for strategic real estate problem solving. The project submitted by the SABOR® in conjunction with the San Antonio ISD was selected.

 

Challenge: Historically, the SAISD neighborhoods were vibrant communities centered around local schools. However, demographic shifts and economic changes led to declining enrollment and financial challenges, culminating in the recent closure of 15 schools. The District intends to retain ownership of the closed schools in case the properties are needed in the future for increased student enrollment. However, the District aims to repurpose the schools to serve community needs.

The Counselors of Real Estate Consulting Corps was asked to assist the San Antonio ISD with real estate guidance to help address the following questions:

1. How could San Antonio ISD organize the entire project to repurpose all facilities?

2. How could San Antonio ISD organize the community engagement for the project?

3. How could San Antonio ISD organize the work of repurposing one facility or small group of facilities?

  • What does San Antonio ISD need to know and/or learn about management and leasing?

Assessment: In June 2024 the Consulting Corps team visited San Antonio, toured several schools, and interviewed more than 75 local and regional stakeholders. Prior to the full team’s visit, one team member toured the neighborhoods and viewed each of the closing schools, sharing videos with the rest of the team. In addition, the team reviewed existing data, building plans, market data, and school repurposing examples from other communities.

Findings and Recommendations:
The Consulting Corps team was impressed with the District’s Rightsizing process, engaging stakeholders and gathering community input before closing the schools. The input provided offers useful information about community priorities which might be served in the repurposed buildings.

To help the district achieve the goal of repurposing properties, the report identifies possible uses, users, and metrics that can help with selecting the new use for a particular building, guidance regarding communications and suggested legal reviews needed. Possible uses include childcare, healthcare, business incubator, community center, housing, recreation, and open space. Many of these uses would require zoning changes, as well as permitting, construction, etc. Collaborating with others will be key to successful outcomes, and the team’s report identifies some of the potential partners, including the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, city/county departments/agencies, housing industry experts, and non-profit organizations.

While the District does not intend the properties to generate income, the new uses must cover their costs. This is likely to be a significant expense which includes insurance, security, maintenance (eg. roof, HVAC systems, etc.), as well as costs to make a building suitable for a different purpose (e.g. zoning changes, permitting, construction, etc.). Overseeing these types of arrangements and construction is an asset management role that the District has not historically played. The report provides an overview of this role along with examples and resources.

The report also provides recommendations for the District to approach the repurposing process – including assembling information about the buildings, creating and soliciting proposals to identify and secure users, engaging partners, communicating with stakeholders, implementing an asset management function, and reviewing legal issues. Still, the District and stakeholders should acknowledge at the outset that there are even harder choices ahead than the closing of the schools. Buildings will undoubtedly need to be demolished; creating the decision tree now to ensure that the demolition path does not fall victim to lack of political will or changes to administration will prevent these buildings from the fate promised to the community – there will be no defunct, derelict buildings to further traumatize the neighborhoods losing their beloved neighborhood schools.

Schools are purpose-built, and transitioning them to a new use is not simple or easy. While repurposing closed schools is likely to take longer than anyone wants, partnering with external entities to benefit from their expertise is key. This collaboration may necessitate empowering partners - who are the experts – to lead the implementation. The team urged the District to allow for flexibility and prepare to pivot: if a property has not confirmed a new user and use within a predetermined timeframe, then consider sale or demolition. The school repurposing presents an opportunity for properties to serve as assets in the communities, and the team looks forward to following the District’s progress in partnering to implement repurposing plans.

In the News:

“Our CRE team was very impressed with the dedication and passion of the San Antonio Independent School District community, staff, and leaders. We recognize the significant efforts employed to inform community members and engage their input – both throughout the Rightsizing process and during the CRE site visit. Repurposing school buildings is complex, and we appreciate the opportunity to bring real estate expertise to guide the District’s work. We look forward to seeing the District repurpose vacant schools and enabling external organizations to bring new uses and amenities into the neighborhoods.” 

Jackie Buhn, CRE, Team Leader

Team: The team was led by Jackie Buhn, CRE, Philadelphia, PA. Panelists were Monica Parikh, CRE, Seattle, WA; Steve Price, CRE, Seattle, WA; Claudia Robinson, CRE, Washington, DC; and Ted Whitmer, CRE, College Station, TX.