San Antonio City Council on April 20 approved funding for three housing projects designed with on-site supportive services for people who are chronically homeless.
The council approved the Towne Twin Village on the east side, The Commons at Acequia Trails on the south side and The Hudson Apartments near Castle Hills inside Loop 410.
City officials said they received five total responses in January to a request for proposals, which were scored by a committee of city staff and community stakeholders.
Council’s action included directing $13.5 million from the voter-approved $150 million affordable housing bond toward the Towne Twin Village and The Commons at Acequia Trails with the rest of the allocated funding from other city and Bexar County sources supported by federal COVID-19 money.
The three projects selected will collectively add 288 permanent supportive housing units to the affordable housing market. Additionally, 13 units will be designated as rapid rehousing units, which reduces the amount of time a family undergoes homelessness and quickly rehouses families into permanent, affordable homes.
Developed by the Housing First Community Coalition, the Towne Twin Village is a $40.4 million new construction project with 41 units for people earning 30% of the area median income, or AMI. Amenities will include a community kitchen, a laundry room, a maintenance building, community spaces, room for expansion and on-site case management services for tenants.
The funds allocated by the council April 20 for Towne Twin Village are part of a larger pool of money being made available for the same project, for which construction initially began in summer 2021, and it has other units dedicated to other individuals and families in need.
Developed by SAMMinistries, The Commons at Acequia Trails is a $43.4 million project that will have 70 units for people earning 30% of AMI and 130 units for people earning 60% of AMI. Amenities will include green spaces and recreational areas, a community center, a playground and on-site case management services for tenants.
Developed by SAMMinistries, The Hudson Apartments is a $11.1 million project involving the rehabilitation of 60 garden-style apartments. Forty-seven of the units are dedicated for people earning 30% of AMI with the rest of the apartments designated as rapid rehousing units for people earning 50% of AMI. Amenities will include a food pantry, an after-school program and case management services for tenants.
City officials said the overall aim is to help reduce the number of unsheltered individuals.
“These new permanent supportive housing units provide a proven intervention to end homelessness for the most vulnerable individuals in our community,” city Human Services Director Melody Woosley said. “The programs awarded today will be a crucial part of our community's coordinated homeless system for years to come, and I look forward to further efforts in the near future.”
These permanent supportive housing developments are in addition to the 14 affordable housing bond projects awarded in December for rental production or rehabilitation, city officials said.
New and future affordable housing projects will accept residents through the city’s coordinated entry system, a framework connecting persons experiencing homelessness to the best resources to meet their needs. It is also process for which households are connected to the appropriate housing resources based on their unique needs.
