Government, Ranches Dominate San Antonio Property Ownership

San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the nation, with rapid single-family and commercial development, but government entities and ranches are the largest landowners in the region, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

San Antonio, known as Military City USA, has Air Force and Army installations that now comprise Joint Base San Antonio (Randolph Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base and Camp Bullis). Other federal holdings such as those owned by the U.S. Postal Service, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers make the federal government the largest landowner in the San Antonio metropolitan area, which includes Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson counties.

The State of Texas is next in terms of property ownership in the region, and it’s easy to see why, when considering the number of state parks and natural areas dotting the region. The Texas General Land Office holdings include the Alamo (four other historic San Antonio missions fall under the National Park Service). Other landowning state agencies in the region include the Department of Criminal Justice, Department of Transportation, Texas Historical Commission, Permanent School Fund, Veterans Land Board and National Guard Armory Board, plus state healthcare facilities such as the San Antonio State Hospital.

The city of San Antonio is the next largest landowner, with dozens of city parks, golf courses, nature trails, bicycle paths and city infrastructure facilities and government buildings. San Antonio International Airport and Stinson-Mission Municipal Airport are owned by the city, as are the Alamodome and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

Other top landowners include ranchland and other large swaths of rural Texas that have been held by families for generations. The George Robinson-owned 74Ranch is a 27,000-acre area managed for hunting game animals. The Peeler family’s Peeler Ranch comprises 21,000 acres of cattle ranching for wagyu and akaushi breeds. The E.L. Ranch, owned by Steven and Lee Stockseth, spans more than 10,900 acres and operates as a cattle operation and also offers whitetail deer hunting. The next five-biggest land owners in the region hold 8,000 to 10,000 acres each.

While many of these ranches have been intact over many decades, prices and competition for land in the region have spiked since the pandemic as people left cities while investors sought to park capital in large properties in partnership with farmers and ranchers.

— Eric Weilbacher