The San Antonio Housing Trust Foundation closed a multimillion dollar deal for the downtown Robert E. Lee apartment building on Tuesday.
The 72-unit apartment building came on the market last year, when downtown developer Weston Urban offered to buy the property on the intersection of Travis and Flores streets for $4.35 million.
The Housing Trust was given an opportunity to bid on the building and agreed to purchase the building in June for $3.27 million, plus assuming an unpaid $1.7 million city loan.
The Bexar County Appraisal District listed the property’s assessed value at $2.8 million — around $1.6 million for the land and $1.2 million for the building.
The building’s units are set aside for affordable housing due to a 1995 agreement with the city. That means apartments are for people making around 60% of the area median income — an annual income of no more than $40,620 for a single person or $57,960 for a family of four.
The Housing Trust will preserve affordable housing at the site, according to a press release.
“Our goal was to protect current residents and secure long-term affordable housing in a prime downtown location,” said Pete Alanis, the Housing Trust’s executive director.
The Robert E. Lee Apartments were built as a hotel in the 1920s and were turned into apartments in the 1990s. The City of San Antonio loaned the building $1.7 million in 1995 for renovations to create affordable housing
Weston Urban offered to purchase the building from RELEE Partners in 2024, but it was required to give tenants, qualified nonprofits and other entities 90 days to make a bid of their own because the building receives certain tax credits.
Residents spoke to the San Antonio Report, sharing concerns about the future affordability of the building. The Housing Trust stepped in and agreed to buy the building in June.
The Housing Trust plans to renovate the Robert E. Lee Apartments, Alanis said in the press release, and is working with Wedge Property Management and Alamo Architects.
