Gretchen Howell takes the lead at VIDA development on San Antonio’s Southside

Since the beginning stages of VIDA planning, Southstar Communities’ Gretchen Howell has been listening to and learning from community leaders and residents, to inform the plan for the 600-acre VIDA San Antonio development adjacent to Texas A&M-San Antonio. The ambitious plan is bringing a number of needed additions to the City’s southside, including retail, mixed-income housing, parks and trails and the much-anticipated University Health campus. 

Now Howell has been formally named Senior Vice President. Due to her deep connection and passion for VIDA, SouthStar recently evolved Howell’s role to focus exclusively on managing the project. 

“Everywhere we work, we immerse ourselves in the place, learn its history, and collaborate with the community to make something special,” Howell said. “VIDA stands out for me—I have never before worked anywhere where people are so happy to work with us in shaping the future.” 

Bringing citywide value to the Southside

VIDA has a close partnership with Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Palo Alto College, and the University Health System to support education, health, and wellness opportunities for students and residents on the Southside. Other area partners include the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, San Antonio River Authority, and the San Antonio River Foundation to create and maintain public outdoor spaces. And the VIDA Arts Council made up of community members, was established to celebrate the area’s culture and support local artists alongside the city’s Arts and Culture Department.

“Welcoming a hospital is going to shape generations of health and wellness for the region,” Howell said. “That’s every bit as exciting as walking the first mile of the Madla Greenway with students from the water conservation club at A&M-San Antonio and collaborating with the kinesiology department on introducing fitness programs.”

These collaborative efforts are what Howell is most proud of and part of what makes VIDA so special—it’s about more than building homes. 

“Everything is designed to make the larger community better,” she said. “The Southside is made up of different people who have a deep history here and who make it interesting and layered. There are great voices to speak to what’s here; I just get the luxury to work here.”

Personal and professional opportunities

Howell brings more than 25 years of real estate and technology leadership experience to the communities she serves through projects around the country. Her background spans marketing and operations for four-star resort developers, primary home and mixed-use development, high-end hospitality, financial services, and e-commerce. She serves on the board for a number of area nonprofits as well as on numerous advisory boards for technology start-ups.

But she’s never had a project like VIDA.

“Creating a lasting, healthy, strong place means creating access to economic development, to jobs, to financial literacy, to outdoor wellness, to critical care, and to good quality housing,” Howell said. “Never before in my career have I been in the convergence of all of these things. Most developers don’t have the opportunity.”

“We’re in rarified air, we know it, and we’re proud of it.”