Panda Express - San Antonio (Bulverde)

Panda Express - San Antonio (Bulverde) is a new 2,697 sq ft fast-food restaurant project located at Hwy 281 & Bulverde Rd. in San Antonio. The filing, registered with TDLR in June 2025, identifies the site as the Avenida Guadalupe area in Bexar County. The estimated cost for this ground-up build is $2,000,000, which equates to $742 per square foot.

Project Scope and Timeline

The scope of work describes a new 2,697 SF ground-up fast-food restaurant. idGroup is the design firm of record for this development. Hans P Hertner serves as the registered accessibility specialist. The filing indicates a construction start date of January 2026 and a scheduled completion date of August 2026. The total estimated build window is 197 days, which is close to the Bexar County median of 207 days for similar new construction filings.

Financially, this project sits in the top quarter of estimated costs among Bexar County new construction filings, exceeding the county median of $600,000. The $742 per square foot cost is also above the county median of $115 per square foot. These figures reflect the premium associated with new build-out costs compared to renovations or smaller commercial projects in the region.

TDLR completed plan review in June 2025 and construction was scheduled to finish in August 2026; TDLR has not yet recorded a final inspection, so the current state of the site is not confirmed in the public record. The project is privately funded on private land for private use. Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. has five other TDLR-registered projects in Texas, including locations in Kerrville, Sanger, Baytown, Fort Worth, and McKinney, with a combined value of $14,250,000.

Local Context and Area Profile

The site is located in ZIP code 78260, where the U.S. Census ACS 2023 five-year estimates report a population of about 37,389. The median household income in this area is $150,705, and the median owner-occupied home value is $471,200. Housing in this ZIP code is predominantly owner-occupied, with 12,571 housing units. Nearby registered projects in the Avenida Guadalupe area include renovations for Sydney Lanier High School, PNC Bank Weston Centre, and the Briscoe Western Art Museum.

Bexar County unemployment was 4.8 percent in June 2026, higher than a year earlier. The project is situated near existing businesses such as E-Z Out Bail Bonds and Bexar County Pretrial Services. The construction status remains pending final inspection confirmation in the public record.