LIVE OAK, Texas – A giant brand soon to open its doors in Live Oak is a sign of growth to come.
Ikea is halfway built already and is set to open its doors in early 2019.
KSAT 12 got to tour the enormous construction site Thursday.
Letisha Bracy, with Ikea, walked us through the soon-to-be store, where the iconic blue panels are starting to line the outside framing.
Workers already know where everything will be set up.
"This is where you would find all of your rugs, towels, kitchen utensils," Bracy said, pointing to a specific area.
Once the windows are sealed and the interior comes together, the company will start hiring about 250 full- and part-time employees.
The company has already hired about 500 people to build the store. The goal from the start has been to hire locally.
"Live Oak, the San Antonio area, is really growing and booming, and we have a lot of customers here who really want to be a part of that growth," Bracy said.
The store location was not chosen by accident. Growth in the northeast area around Live Oak is projected to skyrocket.
Bexar County Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert is trying to push that along.
"I want (Loop) 1604 and the northeast to look just like it does near (Northwest) Military and Shavano Park and Stone Oak, and it will if my colleagues have the vision to support this as they have thus far," Calvert said.
In 2015, the county bought 51 acres of land, including and surrounding Randolph Air Force Base.
"It's a mix-use development and the 51 acres will have about 20, 30 acres sold to the private sector. There can be restaurants, retail stores. There can be hotels," Calvert said.
The county paid $3.2 million for the land and plans to get a return when it sells part of it to the private sector. The county is already building a Sheriff's Office substation there and will be adding other county services.