SATX-NBF: Impact 10/23/2025

New Braunfels City Council members received an update two months after implementing a paid-parking structure in downtown New Braunfels during a special meeting Oct. 20.

What’s new: The city’s department of economic and community development—in partnership with parking management company Interstate Parking—provided an update on the system's efficacy. Interstate Parking is the management firm tasked with creating the guidelines for the paid-parking program.

Since its implementation July 7, the paid-parking structure has generated a total of $154,748, with $80,210 of that amount being reinvested into the program after expenses, said Jeff Jewell, New Braunfels’ director of economic and community development.

Operating costs totaled around $75,000, including enforcement, maintenance and labor, as well as sales and use tax and credit card fees, which the city absorbs as part of the program, Jewell said.

The funds will go directly back into the enforcement of the paid-parking system, as well as other maintenance and development of the downtown area, according to the presentation.

From a new tattoo shop to a new live music venue, check out the latest business updates in New Braunfels so far this fall.

Now open
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet
The discount retailer sells a wide range of snacks, canned or dry food, clothing and mattresses.

• 139 I-35 S., New Braunfels

• 1997 I-35 N. frontage road, New Braunfels

• 161 Creekside Way, Ste. 302, New Braunfels

• Facebook: Bobby’s Ice

• 190 Center St., New Braunfels

The 2025 Austin-San Antonio Growth Summit kicked off on Oct. 8, highlighting the current growth and future expansion of business and development along the I-35 corridor.

Hundreds of business owners, regional officials and lawmakers attended the event in San Marcos.

The outlook: Henry Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor and 10th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, began the summit by detailing what the region could look like by 2050.

“What we’re living through is quantitatively different than any generation has seen before,” he said.

By 2050, Cisneros said the population in the Austin and San Antonio metroplex is projected to grow from 5.3 million to 8.3 million.

Even by 2030, the population in the area is expected to grow to 6 million or 7 million, according to the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council.

Between 2023 and 2024 alone, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that San Antonio grew by 23,945 residents.

As Bexar County voters head to the polls Nov. 4, they will decide whether to raise the hotel occupancy tax, or HOT, from 1.75% to 2%.

Funds raised from this increased tax, as well as the existing 5% tax on rental cars, will go toward the renovation of the Frost Bank Center, the transformation of the Freeman Coliseum into a permanent home for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, and up to 25%, or $311 million, of the cost for a San Antonio Spurs arena downtown.

The details: Voters will decide on two propositions, with Proposition A funding the existing county venues and rodeo, while Proposition B funds a portion of the Spurs arena. Jim Lefko, director of communications for Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, said the tax is estimated to generate $503 million over a 30-year period. Lefko said the most important aspect of the vote is that funds raised through this tax can only be used on venues.