[SAguy]

From SABJ
By W. Scott Bailey
Senior Reporter, San Antonio Business Journal
Mar 30, 2023

The Interstate 35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin is not the only area in the region drawing heightened interest among companies looking for a place to relocate or expand. A pair of cities connected by Interstate 10 — Boerne and Comfort — have also become an increasingly attractive landing spot.

Some of that interest is coming from the West Coast, and quality-of-life factors are part of the allure, along with a new business incubator, Das GreenHaus, set to open in Boerne in the next several weeks.

The targets include an AI company in California interested in establishing its U.S. headquarters in the region.

“That's the kind of stuff we're seeing,” said Amy Story, president and CEO of the Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corp. “The incubator is something that they really find exciting, that our community is embracing entrepreneurism.”

The interest, Story said, is coming from higher-caliber companies — and from remote talent searching for better quality of life. There is an opportunity, she said, to recruit more similar talent to the Boerne area, creating a larger labor pool attractive to companies.

“We have a very highly educated population. It's a community of choice for many people,” Story said. “The reality is most of the people are not moving to Boerne for a particular job. They just want to live in this community.”

There has also been an increasing volume of companies and talent exploring opportunities a few miles northwest of Boerne.

“We continue to see more interest in the Comfort area,” Story said.

A number of those companies taking note of the area are from out of state, including one in Montana considering a corporate headquarters relocation. Like with Boerne, some of the interest in Comfort is coming from California.

Workforce availability in and around Comfort is one of the factors, according to Justin McKenzie, who heads up the Boerne Kendall County Angel Network and is a member of the Comfort Area Foundation board that is drawing the attention of a variety of companies.

Geography is also working in Comfort’s favor as economic development activity in San Antonio and Austin spreads deeper into the Hill Country.

“It's the convergence of Highway 87 and I-10,” McKenzie said. “You're seeing what's coming out of Austin into Fredericksburg now coming down into Comfort. And you're seeing San Antonio expand all the way through the county to Kerrville.”

The Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corp. has seen a significant increase in activity since January with a project list of prospects that now totals nearly 50.

“It’s encouraging,” Story said. “There's a lot of interest in Boerne and Kendall County.”