AWS San Antonio Bitter Blue data center, Elmendorf, Texas

Amazon Data Services has filed to build a two story data center called Bitter Blue at 12807 Donop Road in Elmendorf, on the far Southeast Side of San Antonio, in Bexar County. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing describes 119,407 square feet costing $65 million, designed by Gensler, with work set to start December 3, 2026, and finish February 9, 2029. The state received the filing on March 15, 2026.

Amazon bought the land in October 2020 from the San Antonio developer Bitterblue, and separately built an earlier, smaller Amazon data center nearby at 11625 Old Corpus Christi Highway. The rest of the roughly 200 acre tract was rezoned in 2021 for a mixed use project of homes, apartments, retail and a 50 acre industrial site, inside a special tax zone that runs until 2046.

San Antonio is writing new data center rules that would keep buildings at least 500 feet from homes, schools and hospitals, with the Zoning Commission expected to finish them in September 2026 and the City Council able to adopt them in October. Council members are also weighing a moratorium of up to 180 days, though at least 12 projects already negotiating for utility service would be exempt, city Development Services director Amin Tohmaz said.

CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System told the council in March they can handle the added demand, but residents worry about water use during drought and about noise. Statewide, Gov. Greg Abbott on August 3, 2026 ordered state regulators to audit data centers seeking to connect to the Texas grid and to deny connection to any that fail the review. "My biggest concern is the 500-foot setback," said Deedee Belmares of Public Citizen.