Committee advances La Ventada affordable-housing proposal to City Council; approves consent agenda of multifamily tax-credit projects

The Planning and Development Committee voted to send a proposed partnership between the San Antonio Housing Facility Corporation (SAHFC) and Marcus Equities to the City Council for approval and approved an item on the consent agenda that includes 22 multifamily projects seeking tax-credit support.

Why it matters: The SAHFC partnership is structured as a Public Facility Corporation (PFC) action and, per staff, requires City Council approval because the SAHFC board is not elected. Committee approval advances the project to a council vote where tax-exempt or other approvals may be considered.

Eiel Benavides presented the proposal for “La Ventada,” described as a development on 2802 (System Rich Drive) in City Council District 6, and identified Marcus Equities as the development partner. Benavides described the project as intended to provide affordable units and services, including set-asides for low-income residents and veterans; he also said the project uses a PFC structure that the city’s policy requires be approved by the City Council under Section 303 of the Texas Local Government Code (as referenced during the meeting).

The presentation included unit-mix figures stated by staff: the transcripted remarks listed figures as 120 one-bedroom units, 144 two-bedroom units and 8 three-bedroom units. Committee questions focused on affordability levels, how the project satisfies the city’s sets-aside policy and whether the proposed rent tiers align with the lowest area median income bands the city prioritizes. Staff said the project would aim to produce and preserve affordable units and that prior SAHFC PFC deals have been selective; staff said they had completed roughly four PFC transactions in the past (as presented in the meeting).

Councilmember Castillo asked about veteran prioritization and the affordability bands included in the deal; staff said project financing pulls from different “buckets” in the policy and referenced a 30/30/30/10 allocation approach described in staff remarks. Committee members asked for additional data on past PFC transactions and the proposed rent tiers; staff said more detail could be provided to the City Council.

A motion to forward the La Ventada item to the City Council was made, seconded and passed with all committee members voting in favor; no names were recorded in the excerpted transcript for mover/second. The committee then considered an agenda-consensual item: a resolution related to multifamily projects seeking tax credits that included 22 projects (the staff packet stated 22 projects); the committee approved the consent agenda by motion, second and unanimous voice vote.