San Marcos Spaceport? Here's What's Coming

San Marcos just bought almost 200 acres to extend its runway for commercial air service. Berry Aviation runs DoD work from the airport. And the economic development director still gets asked: when does this become a spaceport?Helen Ramirez, Economic Development for the City of San Marcos, breaks down why this I-35 college town sits between two mega regions (Austin and San Antonio), what the 2,000-acre Tri-Texas mega site is built for (satellite, semiconductor, advanced manufacturing), and how the city is pairing airport growth with Texas State University talent, Star Park, and real public-private projects downtown.In this episode:
→ Why San Marcos sits dead center on the I-35 corridor
→ Tri-Texas: up to 2,000 acres next to the regional airport
→ ~200 acres for runway extension and commercial air service
→ Berry Aviation, defense work, and 18+ airport tenants
→ “Intelligence, not launch pads”: the real aerospace play
→ Workforce survey: 90%+ of companies stable or growing
→ One city, one region: Kyle, Buda, and the wider corridor
→ Midway Hotel: Texas State land, 130 keys, livable-wage deal
→ Texas Capital Air Show (Nov 7–8) and Buc-ee’s (Aug 12)Guest: Helen Ramirez
City of San Marcos, Economic Development
Host: Justin McKenzie
The Building Texas ShowChapters:
0:00 Could San Marcos Become a Spaceport?
0:15 Why San Marcos, Why Now
1:25 I-35, Amazon, Epic Piping, Downtown Under 5% Vacancy
3:36 Inside the Tri-Texas Mega Site
5:32 Airport Expansion, 200 Acres, Berry Aviation
8:17 Spaceport Question: Intelligence vs Launch Pads
11:03 Aerospace Hiring and the 90% Survey
13:22 One City, One Region
16:06 Students, Nabaco, Star Park, Starburst
17:56 Texas State, Pac-12 Prep, Midway Hotel
22:22 Air Show, Buc-ee’s, and What’s NextWatch next / full catalog: youtube.com/@BuildingTexasShow#SanMarcos #TexasGrowth #BuildingTexas #I35 #TexasAerospace #EconomicDevelopment #TexasState