San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
$2.7M given to build affordable homes
San Antonio nonprofit awards the funds to five projects
Older adults experiencing homelessness could soon find solace in a tiny home or RV trailer in a new community funded partly by a San Antonio nonprofit.
The San Antonio Housing Trust Fund and Foundation awarded $2.7 million to five different organizations to build and rehabilitate homes. Ultimately, these new and renovated homes should keep living expenses affordable for lower income residents.
“The support of a home, it’s the most fundamental factor of being successful,” said Christine Drennon, an associate professor of urban studies at Trinity University. “If we can stabilize people in a dependable place, they have such a better chance of just leading a full life.”
All in all, the five projects will renovate three homes and 88 apartments, build 20 tiny and five single-family homes, prevent the demolition of up to 10 houses, provide two years of rent for 18 tenants and help with a Habitat for Humanity subdivision in Southwest San Antonio.
Pedro Alanis, the foundation’s executive director, said the money provides critical housing infrastructure in San Antonio.
“It allows us to not only promote equitable revitalization in our communities but supports innovative approaches to tackling affordable housing needs in our community,” Alanis said.
The lack of affordable housing has been a problem in San Antonio for some time. As housing costs go up, area incomes have not been able to keep pace.
Experts estimate San Antonio needs to build or renovate 48,000 housing units within the next seven years to create more affordable housing.
San Antonio Housing Trust Fund and Foundation allotted a good portion of funds — $829,000 — to the Housing First Community Coalition, which is building a permanent housing community of tiny homes and RV trailers for older adults experiencing homelessness. The 17.3-acre community is called Towne Twin Village, named after its predecessor, a drive-in
drive-in movie theater.
Located on the East Side off Dietrich Road, Towne Twin Village will break ground May 12.
The first phase of construction will have 42 tiny homes, 20 of which were funded by the San Antonio Housing Trust, 25 RV trailers, a chapel, pavilion, centralized laundry and onsite services and activities.
While approximately 900 to 1,100 homeless individuals are on a housing waitlist at any given time, only seven permanent supportive housing units become available each month in San Antonio, according to data from the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless.
San Antonio has 888 affordable, permanent supportive housing units, while Houston, Dallas, Austin and Fort Worth each have more than 1,000.
“San Antonio is really lacking, and it’s a shame that we’re so far behind everybody else,” said Dr. Chris Plauche, director of Catholic Worker House. The organization is currently operating out of a house on Nolan Street, but it will move to a new facility in Towne Twin Village once construction is complete.
Getting affordable, supportive and sustainable housing for vulnerable populations is a rarity, Drennon said. These units don’t typically generate profit, so developers are hesitant.
Though more funding for Towne Twin Village is slated to go to City Council in May, Drennon thinks the community and its services should be folded into the city’s annual budget.
“We as a city have a responsibility to provide housing for those who are not self-sufficient and probably never will be,” Drennon said. “That’s just a social obligation in an ethical city.”
For the project to soon become a reality, Drennon added, “we should celebrate.”
Towne Twin Village’s first construction phase will add 67 supportive housing units. After the second phase of construction is complete, the community will house 200 chronically homeless older adults.
Rent will vary depending on income, such as Social Security, but it will be capped at 30 percent of
the resident’s said.
Tenants will also receive three free meals a day and have various services and activities available in the neighborhood.
An additional $264,000 was granted to the coalition to provide two years of rent for 18 tenants who may not have income.
Ultimately, Towne Twin Village will have 95 tiny homes; 80 apartments; 25 RV trailers; a clinic with
income,
Plauche
physical, mental and dental health services; a new Catholic Worker House of Hospitality providing healthy meals, a barber and nail, hygiene and laundry services; a chapel; hospice and respite units; a hospitality and food truck pavilion; a community garden; a gazebo-style grill and picnic areas; an art studio; a pet park; and an outdoor amphitheater for movies, music, theater and educational events.
The Roseville Housing Trust received $900,000. With $1.94 million in the bank, the Roseville Housing Trust plans to rehabilitate 88 units for older low-income adults at Roseville Apartments, improving their accessibility for those with disabilities and making the units more energy-efficient.
Some $300,000 went to the Esperanza Community Land Trust, which will acquire and renovate older homes on the West Side. The trust then will rent or resell them to people making 30 percent or below the area median income. In its first year, the Esperanza Community Land Trust will renovate and rent out three homes and intervene in the demolition of eight to 10 existing homes, preventing the displacement of up to 13 families.
Our Casas Resident Council was granted $239,340 to construct five new single-family homes for first-time home buyers. Additionally, the San Antonio Housing Trust awarded $200,000 to go to Habitat for Humanity’s Rancho Carlota subdivision in Southwest San Antonio.