San Antonio’s budget includes fund for repairing public housing

“We’re very appreciative because this is the first time this has ever happened in San Antonio,” said Ed Hinojosa, president and CEO of Opportunity Home.

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Federal funding for capital improvements to public housing has been inadequate for years, Hinojosa said, and the costs of construction materials and labor have skyrocketed in recent years. At the same time, demand for public housing is soaring as home prices and rents outpace wage growth. Opportunity Home’s waitlist of people applying for public housing has swelled to about 97,000 families from 35,000 families before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hinojosa estimates that improvements needed across Opportunity Home’s housing portfolio of more than 70 properties would cost about $500 million, while the agency receives about $13 million annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing maintenance.

That’s prompted Opportunity Home to look for other options, including about $25 million that the agency is set to receive through the city’s first-of-its-kind housing bond, which voters approved last year, and annual support in the city’s budget. The agency originally sought $3.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year, which was reduced to $1 million.

“It is a small amount, but it’s the first step,” said Hinojosa, who hopes the city will continue to provide a yearly allocation for Opportunity Home.

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“I think the conversation has changed a lot after the pandemic,” he said. “There’s more recognition of the problem and more of an appetite to do something about it.”

District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, who represents the near West and South Sides and whose constituency includes many public housing residents, proposed the fund. Leaders at local grassroots advocacy group COPS/Metro and residents of Cassiano Homes on the West Side advocated for it during the budgeting process. Last spring, Cassiano residents showed local officials photos of sewage leaks and mold.

“This fund will ensure that we provide minor repairs that can extend the life on our aging public housing stock and provide permanently affordable housing for families and seniors living at Opportunity Home,” Castillo said in a statement after the council’s vote to approve the budget.

“Together, united, we can create a safer and healthier environment for not only our children now but for the children in the future,” Ashley Chavez, a Cassiano resident, said in a statement.

Alazán Courts, Lincoln Heights Courts and Cassiano Homes are Opportunity Home’s three largest and oldest public housing complexes. Alazán and Lincoln Heights were built in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and Cassiano was built in the early 1950s. The properties provide housing for more than 1,400 households combined.

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Opportunity Home has been working with firms to draft a master plan for rebuilding Alazán. The complex was to be torn down and replaced with mixed-income housing, but Opportunity Home scrapped the deal amid opposition from residents, historic preservationists and housing advocates, and the agency said it would renovate Alazán itself.

COPS/Metro is seeking funding for a master plan to replace units at Cassiano with modern apartments, which will likely take awhile, the organization said.

Hinojosa said Opportunity Home will determine which repairs and upgrades to prioritize at the aging complexes and ask residents for input on what improvements should be made using the money from the city budget.

“That’ll be two steps we go through in the near future,” he said.