Housing Partners Celebrate New Affordable Homeownership on Westside
Published on July 31, 2024
SAN ANTONIO (July 31, 2024) – City officials and housing partners join Our Casas Resident Council, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO), to celebrate the Zarzamora Affordable Home Project, an initiative to increase housing affordability on the Westside of San Antonio.
In 2017, the Office of Urban Redevelopment (OURSA) sold five lots to Our Casas to build five single-family homes that would be sold to eligible first-time homebuyers who are earning 80 percent of the Area Median Income or less, which is an annual income of $63,750 for a family of three.
“Affordable homeownership through infill development demonstrates the power of collaborating with our housing partners to expand access to housing stability and opportunity for our families,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “The creation of this family home is the culmination of systemwide efforts to align our funding streams, partnerships and resident services to promote homeownership and reinvestment back into our neighborhoods.”
The celebration was held at the first home completed and sold in May 2024. This is the first affordable home built by one of the City’s CHDOs that also includes an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU).
“As the cost of housing continues to cause economic pressure on San Antonio residents, partnerships with Our Casas and their Zarzamora Affordable Homes Project are vital,” District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo said. “Our families deserve quality housing, and the addition of this home with a casita in the 78207 shows our City’s commitment to supporting San Antonio residents by providing accessible housing.”
ADUs are commonly referred to as a guest home, casita, in-law suite, cuartito, carriage home, alley home or a garage apartment. ADUs can provide additional living space for families and allow for residents to age in place. In addition, ADUs can provide a secondary revenue stream for a homeowner if rented.
“Additional, affordable housing units of all types are needed in the city,” Zeke Romo, the executive director for Our Casas Resident Council said. “We choose to build single-family homes so families can attain the American Dream of homeownership in the Westside as we work to rebuild the community one family at a time.”
Increasing the number of ADUs is a strategy within the City’s Strategic Housing Implementation Plan. ADUs provide an alternative housing option, which can fill the need for more affordable, smaller units within the community.
“The City of San Antonio is thankful for the commitment of partners who are collaborating to increase the affordable housing stock in San Antonio,” Veronica Garcia, Director of the City of San Antonio’s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department said. “We are witnessing strategies from the Strategic Housing Implementation Plan come to fruition and the impact they are having on families who now have affordable options.”
The total project received $351,669 in HUD HOME funding to construct and sell the five homes. Additionally, the San Antonio Housing Trust provided a line of credit to allow Our Casas to complete the home, and the Bank of San Antonio provided construction assistance. LISC of San Antonio provided a pilot project grant to incorporate the ADU into the design and construction.
Three homes are completed, and the remaining two homes are expected to be completed by the first week of August 2024. Our Casas is accepting applications from eligible first-time homebuyers for the remaining homes.