What started as a vision for a 16-unit boutique apartment complex is quickly growing on an entire intersection near downtown.
Ryan Reed and Sara Villarreal are completing Ashby Place, a two-story multifamily project near San Pedro Springs Park, this fall.
It’s part of broader efforts to build infill development on vacant or underutilized lots and build medium-sized housing developments to bolster the local housing supply.
Gabrielle Herrera, a City of San Antonio spokesperson for the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department called it “missing middle” housing.
“Missing Middle Housing (MMH) includes a range of housing types that contain more than one housing unit but less than larger multi-family, such as duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and cottage courts,” she said. “Providing a range of housing types expands affordability and provides opportunities for residents to live closer to the resources and services they rely on.”
Villarreal and Reed, the team behind the new VillaReed Partners, have plans that go beyond one new housing development.
A new sandwich shop — Iggy’s Hot Corner — will move into the commercial space next to the new apartments on the corner of Flores Street and Ashby Place. Across the street, Villarreal and Reed are preparing another mixed-use project with multifamily housing and commercial space, transforming the intersection.
“We really see it as the entire intersection being activated,” Reed said. “We see this whole Ashby-Flores intersection as being part of this.”
A new restaurant
Sam Chiappone has been cooking for two decades, but the new bodega and Italian sandwich shop coming to the corner of Flores and Ashby will be his first solo venture.
Chiappone, who has also worked with San Antonio chef Chris Cullum and at pizza joint Barbaro, is still honing in on the exact vibe; construction is still under way. But he plans to have a small retail space for other snacks and drinks. His menu will be inspired by his family and Italian heritage.
Chiappone knows there will be Chicago-style Italian beef and Philly-style roast pork sandwiches, along with a play on a muffaletta and something called a Bulldog, a grilled cheese with marinara and pepperoni that references his Midwestern roots. He’s also working on a pescatarian sandwich.
“Expect a simple product put together well. Expect affordability. I’m exhausted by the $12, $14, $16 sandwiches. They’re not going to be footlongs, but they’re going to be friendly to the pocket,” he said.
He plans to have televisions and an outdoor patio space. Chiappone loves the San Antonio Spurs and watching soccer — both sports will be shown.
“Aesthetically, it’ll be like Honky Tonk meets a man-cave. A Texas dive bar with TVs. Those are my two favorite things,” he said.
Chiappone wants it to be unique in San Antonio, while also offering space for nearby residents to come spend time. He plans to sell wine and beer and open this fall.
“With that apartment complex right there, I want it to be a hangout, not only for that apartment complex, but for the neighborhood,” Chiappone said.
Complimenting the neighborhood
Villarreal said that vision is exactly what they wanted for the corner commercial building. It’s what the developers are hoping to bring to the entire intersection.
VillaReed isn’t building large, monolithic apartment complexes. They want to create smaller-scale buildings that fit aesthetically with the local neighborhood.
They’re calling their first project on the northeast corner of Flores Street and Ashby Place Phase I. Phase II will go on the northwest corner of the intersection, where the owner of a small flower shop has decided to retire and sell Villarreal and Reed the land.
“It won’t be a mirror copy of what you see in Phase I, but it will be complimentary and it will be very respectful of what you see in Phase I,” Villarreal said.
There will be slightly more units in Phase II and more commercial space.
Reed and Villarreal are hoping the entire neighborhood benefits from their development. They’re in communication with the nearby San Pedro Playhouse and San Pedro Springs Park Conservancy to revitalize the park and better connect it to Ashby Place.
“This area was waiting for a catalyst to get it going,” Reed said. “We really see this area continuing to lift, especially after these two projects are done.”
The ‘missing middle’
San Antonio is set to add 600,000 new residents by 2050, according to University of Texas at San Antonio researchers in a project presented last year. Those same researchers suggested building housing for those new residents within the urban core, close to existing infrastructure, and identified 7,000 acres of vacant or underutilized land for such projects.
It’s a housing strategy city officials are taking note of as they try to encourage smaller and mid-sized multifamily units in those spaces. Herrera said there are challenges to building those projects, but the City of San Antonio is trying to help developers work around them.
“Missing Middle Housing opportunities are important in established, central neighborhoods where housing demand is high but land is scarce, and residents have greater access to public transportation, employment centers, schools and walkable amenities,” Herrera said.
“Through several strategies, staff is working with stakeholders to develop a MMH incentive program and will coordinate proposed UDC amendments for consideration to remove code related barriers to this type of development,” she added.
Ashby Place is financed by Broadway Bank. Andrew Ozuna, the bank’s senior vice president, said there are several challenges to this kind of infill development, which are often at sites with old buildings or standing environmental issues.
That requires bringing old buildings up to new codes and creative financing packages that make future rents affordable, as well as committed developers with vision and experience, like Reed and Villarreal.
But successful infill projects are often attractive to residents and can create more opportunities in the future.
“It’s creating that catalyst, working on that one project that creates a catalyst for more development,” Ozuna said. “These projects provide some of the amenities that people are looking for as they move into the downtown space.”
Ozuna said Broadway Bank has invested in other developments along the Ashby Place corridor, for example. He sees Villarreal and Reed’s project as a continuation of that trend. VillaReed had a strong vision, pairing a stable mid-sized housing development with a retail opportunity.
“You create a stronger tax base. You increase population. That’s more potential customers for Broadway Bank and a stronger community,” Ozuna added.
Discussing gentrification
Villarreal and Reed both emphasized their desire to fit in with the neighborhood. Chiappone was committed to serving residents that live around Ashby Place with affordable food and a restaurant that will change to meet their needs. But catalyzing development does leave the door for further change.
In UT San Antonio’s 2025 Vacancy to Vitality project, researchers mapped out neighborhoods that could be vulnerable to displacement and required support and affordable housing to remain affordable to longtime residents.
Villarreal said she wants the Ashby Place project to add to the neighborhood.
“We are deeply committed to respecting the character and history of this area. Our entire approach is additive—taking an underutilized property and bringing it back to life to serve the neighborhood,” she said. “Ashby Place preserves the original 1920s commercial building while introducing gentle density at a scale that naturally belongs.”
Gentrification is one of the big concerns Broadway Bank hears from residents as it works on infill development, Ozuna said.
“I don’t have an easy answer for that. The city needs to invest in itself,” he said. “We do our part to invest in the city.”
