The local housing authority unveiled a draft master plan on Tuesday that outlines a major overhaul of San Antonio’s oldest public housing complex.
The Alazán Courts’ master plan, about eight months in the making, is heavily informed by community and resident feedback — including a survey, which emphasized the need to balance the preservation of historic structures and neighborhood culture with modern amenities, greenspace improvements and the need for more public housing.
Because the housing units, built in 1939, are much smaller than modern standards, Opportunity Home San Antonio, formerly the San Antonio Housing Authority, will increase square footage per unit, upgrade appliances and construct taller buildings.
The draft plan — expected to be finalized this month — preserves most of the existing one- and two-story buildings that line the streets within the 23-acre apartment complex. More than a dozen would be demolished to make way for new two- and three-story buildings generally located in the interior of neighborhood blocks.
There are 501 units in the West Side complex. The draft plan would add 65 more throughout Alazán, the adjacent Apache Courts public housing property and baseball field.
While there is a strong demand citywide for one-bedroom units on Opportunity Home’s waitlist — Alazán residents clearly communicated the need to keep and build units for families.
“They really wanted a place here to grow [their families] into three- and four-bedroom apartments,” said Seema Kairam, associate and design lead at Able City, the local architecture and design firm hired by Opportunity Home. “[Residents] really want great green spaces and playgrounds in their courtyard.”
Just over 40% of the units are slated to have three or four bedrooms, 45% will have two bedrooms and 14% will have one bedroom.
Rose Sandoval, who has lived at Alazán since she was born in 1961, said she could have used larger units when she was growing up. Her family of 10 shared a five-bedroom unit — which was actually a combination of two units.
“I had an awesome childhood,” said Sandoval, who served on the roughly 30-member resident committee organized by Able City to collect regular feedback throughout the design process. “I remember always playing outside. We were never ever bored — we never knew what that word meant.”
Kids these days aren’t as easily entertained, she said, but she hopes that Alazán can be a safer place for children and families — and that the structural investment will come with better maintenance and security.
“If not, they’re gonna ruin the apartment,” she said. “What’s the point of spending so much money?”
The first phase of the project — 88 units within the nearby Apache Courts and baseball field — is expected to cost roughly $24 million, Kairam said, and Opportunity Home submitted a request Tuesday for about $8 million toward that through the City of San Antonio’s housing bond program.
It’s unclear how much the entire project will cost. Last year, the agency estimated that the redevelopment project would cost more than $145 million, but officials have said a final cost can’t be calculated until the master plan is completed.
The resident and community committees will each meet at least one more time before the plan is finalized, Kairam said. Ultimately, the plan will require approval by the housing authority’s board.
The Alazán redevelopment process demonstrates Opportunity Home’s shift away from mixed-income partnerships with private developers who receive tax credits.
The entire complex, which houses some of the community’s poorest residents, was previously slated for demolition to make way for a mixed-income development.
Opportunity Home canceled plans last year to raze Alazán amid protests by residents and housing advocates concerned that existing residents would be displaced and unable to afford the housing that would replace the original apartments.
Since the mid-1990s, an estimated 200,000 public housing units have been removed from communities across the nation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
San Antonio has lost about 1,700 units.
