City of San Antonio staff on Nov. 2 presented the pre-solicitation plan for two gap-funding requests for proposals aimed at preserving and producing affordable housing and expanding homeownership.

Veronica Garcia, director of Neighborhood and Housing Services, told the City Council the round will make $16,700,000 available in bond and federal funds: $14,400,000 for rental production/rehab (including $10,000,000 in 2022 bond funds and $4,400,000 in federal HOME/CDBG dollars) and about $2,300,000 in CDBG for homeownership production. The RFP will open Dec. 2 and remain active through Jan. 16, with funding recommendations expected to return to Council for award consideration in April 2026.

Garcia said the rental solicitation will combine new production and rehabilitation into a single application and require that projects include at least 15% of units affordable to households at 30% of area median income (AMI) or below — roughly $26,000 for a family of three in San Antonio — as a minimum threshold. "Gap funding supports both the creation and preservation of affordable housing in alignment with our Strategic Housing Implementation Plan," Veronica Garcia said. She described scoring priorities that place the greatest weight on deeper affordability while also awarding points for family-size units, proximity to frequent transit or green/silver lines, universal design and sustainability features.

The staff recommendation calls for a displacement-impact assessment for new production projects that will inform the scoring committee about neighborhood vulnerability factors before awards are recommended. Because rental awards will include bond dollars, two members of the Citizens Bond Committee will sit on the scoring panel alongside city staff and external subject-matter experts, staff said.

Councilmembers asked for clearer, more prescriptive point guidance so applicants understand how much extra credit they would receive for going beyond the 15% minimum. Mayor Jones proposed an incremental approach inside the 30-point affordability bucket (for example, +5 points at 20% of units at 30% AMI and another +5 points at 25%), leaving the remaining points discretionary for the scoring committee to weigh development experience, resident services or other benefits. Staff said they would include clearer guidance in the RFP and provide rubric comparisons after the solicitation so Council can evaluate how different scoring choices would have changed results.

Transit proximity emerged as another area of council focus. Staff recommended prioritizing projects within a half-mile of the planned green or silver transit lines to align with the city’s transit-oriented development framework; several councilmembers recommended awarding extra priority inside 0.25 mile and lesser priority up to 0.5 mile to balance walkability with site availability.

Council members emphasized protections for special populations and property quality. Several representatives asked that the scoring committee consider property management history and proactive apartment inspection statuses, and that developments offering child care or high-quality Pre-K be held to clear accreditation or quality standards. Garcia said development services staff are on the scoring committee and projects that carry serious code violation histories could be disqualified from funding until addressed.

Staff also proposed using roughly $9,000,000 of remaining bond funds for strategic land acquisition with the San Antonio Housing Trust, subject to Council approval of any acquisitions. The allocation includes a $4.2M set-aside tied to permanent supportive housing objectives.

Next steps: staff will issue the RFP Dec. 2, accept applications through Jan. 16, and return evaluation results and funding recommendations to Council in April 2026. All recommended awards will come back to Council for final approval.

If Council provides additional direction on point tiers (e.g., explicit credits for 20% and 25% deep-affordability thresholds, and stronger priority for parcels within 0.25 mile of transit), staff said they would incorporate the guidance into the solicitation materials and scoring guidance to the selection committee.