Opportunity Home San Antonio, the city’s public housing authority, has revealed an extensive $2.5 billion long-term strategic plan to overhaul its residential housing portfolio. Under the far-reaching initiative, the agency intends to modernize, acquire, and construct at least 14,500 housing units across the metropolitan area through 2037.
The ambitious proposal comes in response to decades of declining federal support, which has forced local housing officials to pursue alternative financial strategies. To fund the massive effort, the organization plans to rely on a blend of private investment partnerships, public bond issuances, commercial developer agreements, and existing federal housing programs.
To demonstrate the pressing need for major reinvestment, housing authority leadership recently hosted a comparative tour of two starkly different properties in its inventory. The tour highlighted the sharp divide between the agency’s aging legacy developments and its newly constructed residential communities.
Among the oldest properties featured was the Alazán-Apache Courts, a historic West Side development constructed in the early 1940s. As San Antonio’s largest public housing community, the complex remains an indispensable safety net for thousands of the city’s lowest-income individuals and working families.
Despite its critical community role, the aging complex suffers from substantial physical deficiencies. Residents live in cramped cinder block units that lack central air conditioning, leaving households exposed to oppressive summer temperatures. The buildings also lack clothes dryer hookups and do not have elevators, creating persistent mobility barriers for upper-floor residents.
In dramatic contrast, the housing authority showcased Snowden Living, a brand-new residential complex that opened in 2025 within the South Texas Medical Center area. Designed specifically for tenants aged 62 and older with low to moderate incomes, the modern facility provides central climate control, in-unit washers and dryers, a swimming pool, an on-site hair salon, a dog park, and a dedicated theater room.
Michael Reyes, the chief executive officer of Opportunity Home, emphasized the vast gap between the two facilities during a presentation at Snowden Living. Reyes remarked that visiting the two properties showed guests the journey from the past to the future, adding that many local residents currently endure living conditions that no one would consider acceptable for their own families.
At present, Opportunity Home provides essential housing assistance to more than 65,000 people. This demographic includes approximately 18,000 residents who either reside directly in public housing developments or utilize housing choice vouchers to lease residences from participating private landlords.
A central component of the new $2.5 billion master plan involves the extensive rehabilitation of existing properties. The agency intends to renovate at least 6,000 traditional public housing apartments—with potential upgrades targeted for Alazán-Apache—alongside 2,500 mixed-income units. Renovations will focus on comprehensive structural repairs, mechanical system updates, and modern amenities.
In addition to property overhauls, the housing authority plans to acquire 500 existing residential units across the city. Aiyana Longoria, the agency’s chief strategy, data, and innovation officer, noted that buying established developments is often more cost-effective than new construction, given that building a single new affordable unit costs roughly $300,000 on average.
Longoria also pointed out that direct property acquisitions allow the authority to swiftly establish affordable options in neighborhoods where lower-income inventory is scarce. To support future development footprints, Opportunity Home aims to negotiate land-banking and property-swapping arrangements with local non-profit groups and municipal governments.
The plan also outlines the construction of 5,500 newly built units, though eligibility will be segmented across various income brackets based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s area median income, which currently stands at $100,600 for a four-person household. More than half of the newly built apartments will be reserved for households earning at least 61% of the area median income.
Among the remaining planned units, 1,250 will be designated for families earning between 51% and 60% of the median income, while 750 will serve households earning between 31% and 50%. Only 500 of the 5,500 new units are earmarked for families earning up to 30% of the median income, despite this tier facing the highest overall demand in San Antonio.
Housing officials explained that statutory limitations and reduced federal subsidies have largely halted the expansion of traditional public housing for extremely low-income earners. Consequently, agencies must structure mixed-income developments to ensure overall financial viability.
Financing for the multi-billion-dollar framework is already heavily structured, with approximately $1.5 billion in progress through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, where private investors purchase tax credits to fund subsidized development. An additional $800 million will be raised through revenue bonds and commercial loans, backed by a recent A+ credit rating from S&P Global Ratings that allows Opportunity Home to secure capital at lower interest rates.
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