Thriving Communities in San Antonio: Looking Toward 2025

As 2024 draws to a close, LISC San Antonio is looking ahead to 2025 and putting more focus on the Thriving Communities initiative. Thriving Communities is San Antonio’s first local government-funded effort focused on anti-displacement and equitable development as an essential component of major capital improvement and infrastructure investments, supported on a foundation of coordinated capacity building. The goal of Thriving Communities is to ensure that community priorities, not just market forces, help determine the future of our neighborhoods, in particular those located along the planned VIA ART Silver Line. This will require not only a person-centered approach but also an unprecedented investment in local capacity.

Distinct from public engagement, capacity building centers existing residents and organizations to partner, manage and lead people- and place-based initiatives ranging from community land trusts to internship programs to clearing property title. This approach was initially inspired and supported by the federal Thriving Communities Program (TCP), which brought together multiple federal government agencies, including Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice and others, under the Department of Transportation (DOT). TCP’s “whole of government approach” was embraced by local partners VIA Metropolitan Transit, the City of San Antonio, and LISC. San Antonio was invited to join the TCP Complete Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods Cohort in 2023; the proram has enabled research, data, and policy development to be delivered to local partners by national consultant WSP, who will continue to be involved in our program.

Implementation of Thriving Communities is already underway, building on and incorporating existing community-led efforts. For example, non-profit economic development organizations SAGE and Prosper West hosted listening sessions to better understand neighborhood concerns and aspirations regarding new investment in their communities. Complementing this work, the LISC San Antonio and Houston offices received funding from Truist to create a three-stage RAMP program for emerging real estate developers. Major steps forward will occur in 2025, with LISC’s hiring of a dedicated Thriving Communities staffer (partially funded by VIA), and in 2026, with the creation of a land acquisition revolving grant fund.

Thriving Communities corridor initiatives will center on anti-displacement strategies, including Sustaining Homeownership (title clearance, ADU development, and counseling and maintenance efforts); Supporting Small Business (BDO Alliance, construction navigators, procurement connections); Workforce Development (construction trades connections and high school/college internship opportunities); and Public Safety. Equitable development approaches will center on Affordable Housing (supported by land acquisition and bridge lending); Community-Serving Businesses (including childcare, healthy food, and locally-based real estate development); and Neighborhood Ownership (including community land trusts and co-ops).

Initial funding for the San Antonio Silver Line Thriving Communities program is being provided by LISC, VIA, the City of San Antonio, Truist, JPMorganChase, and the San Antonio Area Foundation.