SAN ANTONIO – A long-awaited South Side police substation is inching closer to becoming a reality.
The City of San Antonio is expected to begin soliciting bids on April 4 for the construction of a new police substation on South Flores Street, near the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and East Ashley Road.
The $17 million construction contract is expected to be up for council approval in September, with the station completed in early 2027.
Staff at the nearby Castillon Auto Center on East Ashley Road can’t wait for their new neighbor. They told KSAT they’ve had to deal with vandalism, trespassing and theft, which they say is connected to a homeless camp in the currently wooded, 18-acre site of the future substation.
They even shared security video of a woman entering the shop wielding a pair of knives, shouting as employees backed away from her.
“Hopefully, with that substation being built right there, that’ll really at least fix the issue,” said Josh Garcia, a service writer at Castillon. “But then again, these people will be moving somewhere else, and it’ll be somebody else’s problem until the root is identified."
SAPD Sergeant Washington Moscoso agrees that a police station could deter crime in the immediate area, pointing to anecdotal evidence from the North St. Mary’s substation, which was completed in the spring of 2024.
“We’ve seen that deterrent on the St. Mary Strip,” Moscoso said. “So theoretically that...we’ll see that deterrent effect on the South Side when the new substation’s put in.”
The South substation service area is currently the largest in the city. Moscoso said police already patrol the area; so it’s unclear if there will be an effect on police response time.
However, the substation will also have its own SAFFE unit, a community policing effort that council members often say is popular with their residents.
A South Side substation was a longtime goal of former District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, whose sister, Phyllis Viagran, succeeded her in 2021.
Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran is also chairwoman of the Audit Committee, which was briefed Friday afternoon on the upcoming solicitation. During the meeting, her spokesman emailed KSAT a statement:
“The future District 3 state-of-the-art public safety substation has been years in the making, and today, we are proud to have moved it forward to the next steps in Audit. This project began under the previous administration, recognizing the critical need for a dedicated police substation in District 3. I then built on that foundation, ensuring strong community buy-in, and securing voter approval from our residents. This substation is more than just a building it’s a commitment to safety, progress, and the future of public safety infrastructure in our city."
Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, District 3
KSAT asked other candidates for District 3 for their thoughts on the new substation. Kendra Wilkerson declined to comment, while Kenneth Thomas and Larry La Rose did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
