City Reaches 1,000 New Rental Homes Under Construction Milestone with

Published on December 13, 2023

SAN ANTONIO (December 13, 2023) – City of San Antonio officials announced on Dec. 12 more than 1,000 new rental homes supported by the Affordable Housing Bond are under construction and expected to hit the market between Fall 2024 and Fall 2025. 

“With over 1,000 new homes under construction this year, the affordable housing bond has reached a critical milestone that will leave a lasting legacy for the long-term wellbeing of our residents,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “I look forward to seeing the continued development of a city where people, regardless of their circumstance, can find a place they can call home.”

Nearly 900 of those homes will be designated for families who are earning at or less than 60 percent of the Area Median (AMI), which is $47,460 for a family of three. About 41 of those homes are permanent supportive housing, created to house the chronically homeless.

"I am excited for this project because once it is completed, nearly 200 families will directly benefit and thrive from the affordability of these homes," District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo said. "Additionally, the on-site, wrap-around services, like health and wellness screenings, guarantee that our communities have the support to get ahead in their lives."

The announcement was shared at the Culebra Road Apartments groundbreaking ceremony where Tirol Housing is constructing a new apartment community with 199 homes available for rent. Of the 199 homes, 178 will be available to families who are earning at or less than 60 percent AMI, and 21 homes will be deeply affordable for families who earn at or less than 30 percent AMI, which is $23,750 for a family of three. This community is being built with a $1.75 million investment from the 2022 Affordable Housing Bond program. 

“We are closing out the year knowing that the City of San Antonio is on track to expand affordable housing options in communities across the city,” said Veronica Garcia, director of the City’s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department. “The families we hear from every day are the reason we knew it was a priority for the bond dollars to be administered as quickly as possible to add new affordable homes to our housing market.”

The first projects approved from the City of San Antonio’s first-ever voter-approved $150 million Affordable Housing Bond were announced just one year ago. The Bond supports preserving and building affordable housing in five priority categories: 

• Helping Homeowners Fix Their Homes (Homeownership Rehabilitation and Preservation)
• Improving Rental Homes (Rental Housing Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Preservation)
• Building Affordable Rental Homes (Rental Housing Production and Acquisition)
• Connecting Unhoused Neighbors to Housing with Resources (Permanent Supportive Housing)
• Building Homes to Own (Homeownership Production)

The approved projects were selected through a competitive process, using scoring criteria in alignment with the Housing Community Bond Committee’s bond parameters, which prioritized:

• Deeply affordable units for families earning at or less than 30 percent and 50 percent AMI
• Projects that prioritize universal design
• Projects with sustainability features beyond City Code to include energy efficiency and water reduction features, and resilient building and weatherization practices
• Integrating high-speed internet and mobile infrastructure into design plans
• Projects with wide geographic availability and working to decrease racial and social economic segregation
• Projects that included meaningful, on-site resident services

Culebra Road Apartments is an example of a project that will include on-site residential services to include after-school activities for children, financial literacy training, employment services and health and wellness screenings. A central boiler system design will also eliminate the cost of water services to all renters living at the community.

Affordable rental housing projects under construction are:

The Area Median Income for a family of three is approximately $23,750 at 30%, $39,550 at 50%, $47,460 at 60% and$55,370 at 70%.