By Edmond Ortiz
A San Antonio public housing agency is moving forward with a controversial plan that is not sitting well with at least one City Council member.
In other recent San Antonio news, council is opting to wait to talk more about the mayor’s proposed voting commission, and a city panel approved conceptual plans for a new San Antonio Missions baseball stadium and surrounding redevelopment.
Elsewhere, more improvements are coming to a Stone Oak-area park, a new North Side school sports facility is now open, and a former Converse City Council member has returned to City Hall.
SAN ANTONIO
Councilmember voices worry over public housing proposal
District 5 City Councilmember Teri Castillo is expressing concerns over a key change in Opportunity Home San Antonio’s Moving to Work plan.
Commissioners with the public housing agency voted April 1 to authorize the submission of requests for conversion of public housing to project-based vouchers under the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.
The RAD program allows public housing authorities and owners of legacy HUD-assisted properties to convert units to long-term Section 8 rental assistance contracts in order to leverage public/private financing to rehabilitate or replace aging public housing.
Castillo said on April 2 that Opportunity Home’s plan could adversely affect numerous socioeconomically vulnerable families who rely on public housing, and impact even the supply of quality affordable homes.
Castillo also cited federal data, which states 74% of RAD-converted units have failed to meet basic housing quality standards. Residents speaking at the agency’s April 1 meeting echoed similar issues.
“Loopholes exist allowing housing authorities to permanently eliminate apartments, especially those left vacant due to disrepair, which reduces the overall supply of affordable housing,” Castillo said in a statement. “At the same time, the program allows assistance to be moved to new locations, forcing residents to relocate far from their communities, jobs, and support systems.”
Panel approves designs for ballpark, adjacent hotel, apartment towers
The city’s Historic and Design Review Commission on April 1 passed a consent agenda that gives conceptual approval to preliminary plans for a new San Antonio Missions stadium, and three nearby hospitality and residential developments.
The Missions’ ownership group, Designated Bidders, proposes building a 7,200-seat ballpark that will also offer space for large community events during non-game days. The new Missions stadium will sit between the CAST Tech/Fox Tech High School complex and San Pedro Creek.
Local developer Weston Urban has proposed redevelopment of neighboring parcels to complement the new Missions ballpark by building a 14-story multi-family tower called The Yard Residences with a parking garage, an eight-story hotel called The Yard; and a 27-story residential tower at 309 W. Travis St. with a parking garage.
The latter initiative involves rehabilitation of the historic San Fernando Gym, the former home of local boxer champion Jesse James Leija’s boxing gym.
Individual components of each project will come back to the HDRC for further review before final recommendations are forwarded to City Council.
More discussion awaits voting commission proposal
City Council voted April 2 to wait until later this month or May to further discuss Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ proposal to create a voting commission.
Jones, in initially announcing her proposal in February, said a Mayor’s Commission on Voting would help to raise voter participation across San Antonio.
Jones had hoped to have council approve the creation of a commission by April 3, with the mayor appointing three residents and each council member appointing one resident.
During the April 2 meeting, Jones said a voting commission is urgently needed to help increase public pressure against state and federal efforts that she said are aimed at suppressing voter participation.
“I really think this is a responsibility to ensure that our community is engaged, and that we are reducing barriers to ensure that our neighbors vote at the local level,” Jones said.
Council members agreed that boosting voter participation is admirable, but some members said the issues with such things as the panel’s membership composition, timeline and scope of work.
“I think it’s helpful that we’re looking at this in the most comprehensive way possible,” District 6 Councilmember Ric Galvan said.
Far North Side park project greenlit
City Council by consent agenda voted April 2 to award a $2.39 million contract to Jerdon Enterprise to implement parking, pedestrian, and general park improvements at Classen-Steubing Ranch Park.
Classen-Steubing is one of San Antonio’s newest public parks, and continues to undergo improvement for public recreation. A new natural trail recently opened at the Stone Oak-area park.
Funding for this project is available from the city’s voter-approved 2022 bond, and the city’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Construction will continue through next spring.
Northside ISD opens new athletic facility
Northside Independent School District officials gathered with community members April 1 to cut the ribbon on the district’s new Northside Sports Complex.
Located at 12801 Tall Timber Lane at the Sotomayor High School campus, the Northside Sports Complex will accommodate cross country, softball and baseball events.
The new facility features two state-of-the-art ballfields with new turf, outfield fencing, bullpens, and batting cages, and seating for 1,000 spectators at each ballfield, along with lighting, dugouts, and press boxes. The cross-country course offers a new turf staging area for meets.
CONVERSE
Paschall returns to City Council
City Council voted 4-2 April 1 to appoint Renee Paschall, a former Converse council member, to the Place 2 seat, which was left vacant with the recent departure of Deborah James.
Paschall, three other former council members and six additional residents applied for the Place 2 position. The first Black woman elected to Converse’s council, Paschall served with the governmental body for six years. The former Judson Independent School District educator also spent eight years on the JISD board.
Newcomer Jessica Hannah, who was appointed March 17 to fill a council post vacated by Sylvia Meyer, was one of the councilors to cast a vote for Paschall.
“I’m here to serve the community, and I come here as a 36-year retired teacher. I’ve got a lot of experience with community service,” Paschall told the council prior to her appointment.
