The San Antonio City Council on Thursday approved $35 million in funding for 14 affordable housing projects.
Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News
Madison Iszler, Staff writer
The San Antonio City Council on Thursday approved $35 million from the city’s first-of-its-kind housing bond and other funding sources to build and rehabilitate 2,138 affordable apartments, single-family homes and mobile homes across 14 sites.
More than 10 companies, nonprofits and governmental agencies will share in the funding, with the largest allocation going to Opportunity Home San Antonio, formerly known as the San Antonio Housing Authority.
Opportunity Home will receive $8.3 million to renovate the Victoria Plaza Apartments at 411 Barrera, the Midcrown Senior Pavilion apartments at 5414 Midcrown Drive and The Ravello apartments at 6639 S. New Braunfels Ave., as well as to build 20 homes on the West Side.
Los Angeles-based Pico Union Housing Corp. is slated to receive $5.25 million to rehabilitate Westwood Plaza Apartments along Westwood Drive, and $4.25 million will go to San Antonio-based Prospera Housing Community Services to rehabilitate the Vista Verde Apartments at 910 N. Frio.
Alamo Community Group will receive $2.35 million to build a 138-unit complex at 811 W. Houston St. near VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Centro Plaza hub.
Nearly 75 percent of those new apartments will be for families earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, or AMI, with 21 units for those making up to 30 percent of the AMI and 14 for those making up to 50 percent of the AMI.
The AMI in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area is $61,500 for one person, $70,300 for a couple, $79,100 for a family of three, $88,600 for a family of four and $94,900 for a family of five, according to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
Alamo Community Group received $2 million in an earlier round of funding. But the San Antonio developer sought more money because of rising construction costs and interest rates, Veronica Garcia, director of the city’s Neighborhood & Housing Services Department, told council members at a briefing last month.
Resident Owned Communities USA of Concord, N.H., will get $3.1 million to buy and convert the Riverside Terrace manufactured home community along Mission Road to resident ownership.
ROC USA plans to work with residents to form a cooperative association to buy the land at the park, which has 46 occupied homes and eight additional lots. Co-op members could continue to own their homes individually, vote on decisions for the park and receive coaching on managing the park from ROC USA and its affiliates. ROC USA provides loans, and if a better loan is available from another source, ROC USA and its affiliates must provide that information to co-op members, according to its website.
Cleveland-based NRP Group will get $3 million to build 65 apartments near Terrell Hills, with 32 units for families making up to 60 percent of the AMI, 25 units for those making up to 50 percent and eight units for those making up to 30 percent.
About $2.1 million will go to Cornerstone Housing Group to develop 180 apartments behind San Antonio State Hospital for older adults. Ninety percent of the units will be for those making up to 60 percent of the AMI, with the rest for those making up to 30 percent.
Lincoln Avenue Capital of Santa Monica, Calif., will receive $2.5 million to build 308 apartments across from Pearsall Park, with 261 for families earning up to 60 percent of the AMI and 47 for those making up to 30 percent.
Tirol Housing, based in Lake Oswego, Ore., will get $1.75 million to build 199 apartments off Culebra Road, with 178 units for those earning up to 60 percent of the AMI and 21 units for those earning up to 30 percent.
An additional $1.5 million will go to San Antonio Alternative Housing Corp. to build 30 apartments at 1614 El Paso St. Twelve units will be for families making up to 80 percent of the AMI, six for those making up to 60 percent and three for those making up to 30 percent.
Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio will receive $900,000 to build 22 homes on the East Side.
Voters approved the $150 million bond last year as part of the city’s $1.5 billion bond program, and other funding sources include federal coronavirus recovery programs. Council members approved nearly $44 million for 14 projects in December, and the city and Bexar County greenlighted nearly $43 million for three projects in April.
madison.iszler@express-news.net