Comite de Bien Estar marks 40th anniversary next month
Comite expanded services over four decades
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – COVID-19 may have put a damper on public celebrations, but next month marks a milestone of no less significance for the Comite de Bien Estar, an organization that has been a bedrock of this city’s growth.
In September 1980, Comite incorporated as a housing cooperative that helped its members – individuals as families of limited means, many of them recently immigrated from Mexico – to attain home ownership. Pooling the funds of its members, the non-profit organization purchased and subdivided land where they then built their homes.
The 40th anniversary would have been an apt occasion for a celebration of the history of what today is one of the city’s two largest residential developers. But the need for social distancing amid the pandemic forced Comite to tone down any celebrations, said its executive director, Tony Reyes.
“We had several plans for celebrating, but with the pandemic it wasn’t possible. But this is an anniversary that can’t be allowed to pass. It’s very significant for us – no other organization can say that it is a pioneer and foundation of development in its community,” said Reyes, who has headed Comite throughout its existence.
As Comite continued developing subdivisions over the years, it also branched out, helping members apply for other home financing assistance, as well as
offering social services, such as day care and child nutrition programs, financial counseling, and English and citizenship classes.
“Transformation is the word that best defines the present stage of the Comite, all to provide more and better services to the community,” said Reyes, who served concurrently as mayor of San Luis during Comite’s initial decade and who today is a Yuma County supervisor.
The organization has remained strong, says Reyes, owing to its ability to adapt to the times.
When it started out, Comite focused on acquiring and subdividing land into lots where members then built their homes on their own. Today, it helps members apply for low-interest home financing under federal self-help housing and other programs, and also manages federal subsidized apartments for low-income tenants.
Reyes believes Comite’s biggest imprint can be seen on the city’s rapidly growing east side, where a residential subdivision it started in 2007 facilitated projects by other, commercial and residential developers in the years to come.
“We can say that it was the vision of Comite that originated the development of the city on the east side,” he said. “Our projects prompted basic services such as water and sewer. I believe the organization’s biggest imprint is in that part.”
Over four decades, Comite and its members have developed nearly 4,000 lots, accounting for 60 percent of residential development in the city, Reyes said. It and Riedel Holdings are the two largest residential developers in the city.
Comite has also developed five multi-family housing complexes, one of them in Somerton, and the organization’s versatility has enabled to respond to the demand for townhouses.
Headquartered in San Luis throughout the years, Comite has nearly 50 employees and is headed by a nine-member board of directors headed by Vicente Zamora.
Apart from putting a damper on an anniversary celebrations, COVID-19 has made 2020 a bittersweet year for the Comite, having claimed one of the board members, Raymundo Terrazas.
For now, Comite is at work in the first phase of another subdivision and is seeking investor an apartment complex it plans to develop on the city’s north side.