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City staff outline recommendations from housing bond round; $34 million in proposals recommended for affordable housing projects
Summary
City staff briefed the council on recommended allocations from the city’s affordable-housing bond and related federal funds; the report recommends financing for multiple rehabilitation and new-construction projects that together would create or preserve hundreds of affordable units and will return for action next week.
City staff presented an implementation report on June 5, 2025, recommending allocations from the city’s affordable-housing bond program and related federal funds that would support production, rehabilitation, preservation and acquisition of affordable rental and for-sale housing.
Verónica García, identified in the transcript as director of neighborhood and housing services, told the council the current request recommends roughly $34,000,000 in awards drawn from the 2022 housing bond, HOME-ARP, federal programs and other sources. The recommendations would support development and rehabilitation projects intended to produce or preserve hundreds of affordable units near transit corridors. García said the selection panel prioritized projects ready to start within six months and projects located within a quarter-mile of bus lines.
Why it matters: The city and its partners have identified an estimated shortfall of about 28,000 homes to meet affordability goals, and councilmembers used the briefing to press for a continued emphasis on deeply affordable units (households at or below 30% of area median income, AMI) and for a clearer playbook to accelerate projects across council districts.
Details and projects: The report recommended funding for eight projects in this round and identified a portfolio that the staff said would create or preserve roughly 686 rental homes across several developments, including rehabilitation of the Robert E. Lee property (transcript reference) and new developments with dedicated units for families and older adults. Specific dollar amounts cited in the presentation included:
- A recommended $4,743,000 loan at 0% interest to renovate 72 units at a downtown project (transcript: Robert Eilly/Robert E. Lee project). - A $6,000,000 0% loan for rehabilitation at Sector Heart Village to add units and services for older residents. - Loans and awards described in the transcript for other projects ranged from $2.2 million to $6.0 million per project; staff said several projects are also pursuing 9% low-income housing tax credits and would return to council for final approval if awarded credits.
Staff said the city has committed most of the bond funds approved by voters and has about $14,000,000 remaining to allocate across future rounds; staff and the city manager recommended returning the item to the council next week with ordinance(s) for approval. City Manager Eric Walsh and housing staff emphasized coordination with the San Antonio Housing Trust and county investments to meet citywide goals.
Council response and next steps: Councilmembers praised the volume of work and asked for biannual updates on SHIP and bond goals, a clearer breakdown of units by district and more proactive site-identification to accelerate projects. Several councilmembers reiterated that the deepest-need category (households at or below 30% AMI) requires the most incentives and remains the hardest to deliver.
The presentation was informational; staff said formal funding allocations and ordinances will be before the council for action the following week.
