Burton Hackney
president
annually
San Antonio closed 2025 with a projected $11.5 billion in construction starts, down from 2024’s record pace but still one of the strongest years on record. Dodge Data & Analytics forecasts that total starts will reach $12.6 billion by 2026, indicating a market that is stabilizing rather than retreating.
For Joeris president Burton Hackney, the past year reflected resilience in the company’s core markets.
“We saw strong demand across all of our sectors and maintained record delays through 2026 and 2027,” he says. “The year reinforced that our strategy of focusing on customers and building for the long term continues to pay off as we look to 2027 and 2028.”
Nonresidential construction starts are projected to total nearly $4.2 billion by 2025, according to Dodge, based on institutional work. Education projects were expected to account for $1.3 billion in starts, while healthcare facilities added $464 million. Office and bank construction remained elevated at $839 million, and manufacturing projects were forecast at $170 million, continuing to gain strength heading into 2026.
A major initiative supporting the city’s industrial growth is JCB’s new manufacturing facility on the south side of San Antonio, where Joeris is serving as the project’s general contractor.
Vertical construction broke ground during 2025, and the $500 million project, which rises by about 400 hectares, is expected to employ about 1,500 workers when fully operational, with production scheduled for mid-2026.
According to Dodge, residential starts strengthened during 2025, reaching a projected $4.1 billion. Single-family homes accounted for $2.9 billion, while multi-family projects accounted for $1.2 billion. Both segments are expected to expand further by 2026, surpassing $4.5 billion.
Construction starts without buildings are estimated at $3.2 billion, led by nearly $2 billion in highway and bridge contracts and nearly $1.1 billion in environmental and public works. Although Joeris doesn’t do road construction, Hackney says the impact of infrastructure spending is visible in San Antonio and across Texas.
“What we’re seeing a lot in our markets is the crowding out of city centers,” he says.
Looking ahead, technology is playing a central role in construction discussions across the industry.
Hackney says the interest in artificial intelligence is less about changing how buildings are built and more about improving operations. Over the past year, Joeris has focused on organizing and consolidating internal data across the organization.
“Last year we really struggled with how we’re going to clean up and collect our data,” says Hackney. “Our strategy is to clean it up at home so we can start figuring out what AI really means for us and how to take advantage of it in 2026.”
Data centers are among the fastest growing segments of construction in Texas. Hackney says Joeris is closely monitoring the sector while remaining selective in its involvement.
“The year reinforced that our strategy of focusing on customers and building for the long term continues to pay off”
—Burton Hackney, President, Joeris
“It’s a very crowded space right now,” Hackney says. “There’s a lot of work going on, but not a lot of people who can build, especially on the trade side. Electricians, skilled plumbers and all the labor needed to put these systems together are in very short supply.”
He adds that a shortage of skilled workers is influencing how quickly projects can progress and could create obstacles for the industry in 2026.
Beyond tech-driven and industrial work, several large-scale civic projects could further influence San Antonio’s construction outlook.
Among them is Project Marvel, a proposed downtown sports and entertainment district anchored by a new San Antonio Spurs basketball arena. Voters approved funding mechanisms in 2025 to support taxes on the project site, estimated at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, along with additional mixed-use development and infrastructure improvements tied to the broader district.
Looking ahead, the outlook for San Antonio remains positive. According to Dodge, total construction starts are expected to increase to $12.6 billion by 2026, driven by steady demand across the residential sector; institutional; commercial and industrial; road; and other infrastructure sectors.
