Affordable Housing

LISC is able to drive progress in large part because of our close connection to the communities where we work. Since 2016, LISC San Antonio has invested nearly $16 million in housing development and preservation efforts throughout our city.

Since 2016, LISC San Antonio has invested nearly $16 million in housing development and preservation efforts.

The reasoning is clear: not only is every county in the country facing an affordable housing crisis, but we also know from both data and experience that good housing has a powerful influence on school performance for kids, employment opportunities for their parents, entrepreneurial success for local businesses and health and safety for all.

Supportive Housing

With support from the San Antonio Area Foundation and the City of San Antonio Department of Human Services, LISC San Antonio hired a staff member in 2023 to support and expand Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) efforts in San Antonio and Bexar County. Netanya Jamieson, Santikos Capacity Builder & Program Officer for Supportive Housing, has begun her work with a listening tour with various providers and stakeholders to determine needs and opportunities within the system. You can hear her report on the listening tour and her next steps here.

Earlier, LISC San Antonio helped to develop and administer a service-enriched housing coalition in the Bexar County area to research, educate, advocate and secure funding for housing that supports vulnerable populations, including those experiencing homelessness, intellectually/developmentally disabled adults, mental health care consumers, those with physical disabilities and the criminal justice system-involved population.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are small, naturally affordable and climate-friendly homes tucked discreetly within residential neighborhoods. They’re a great match for smaller households, and can be created through basement or garage conversions, additions, or new construction of back yard tiny homes. ADUs can be paired with affordable housing programs to serve low-income families, other vulnerable populations, and first-time homeowners.

With subject expert Orange Splot, LISC San Antonio has developed this ADU Guide to provide background on what ADUs are, how they can benefit San Antonians, financing issues, and how local development code currently addresses ADUs.

Read the guide: Accessory Dwelling Units for San Antonians [+]

In 2023, LISC San Antonio partnered with two non-profit agencies (Madonna Center and House of Neighborly Service) will pilot a program to assess how many ADUs are in a selected neighborhood and what kind of condition they are in, as well as support renovation of up to four existing units to bring them up to code.

In addition to building nonprofit capacity and renovating existing ADUs to provide a source of safe, accessible and most likely affordable housing, the pilot program will provide critical data for policy making to the City of San Antonio and other partners. Information about prevalence, condition, costs to rehabilitate, perceived and actual barriers for homeowners, and use/affordability of pilot program units should help shape an equitable ADU incentive policy focused on equitable investment of public resources including grant and loan funds, technical assistance, fee waivers and tax abatements.

Project Highlights

Our Casas Resident Council, Inc. Single-Family Homes

Our Casas Resident Council, an organization founded by and for public housing tenants, has worked for years to build affordable single-family houses on vacant lots on the near West Side of San Antonio. LISC helped finance new homes that will be available to first-time homebuyers earning 60 percent or less of AMI, and supported by Our Casas' counselling for homebuyers and owners.

In addition to providing capital to this project, LISC offered training to build Our Casas' staff capacity and ensure the homes are successfully completed. Our Casas is currently working on their first affordable single-family home that includes an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on the property.

Alamo Community Group Museum Reach Lofts

LISC San Antonio is partnering with Alamo Community Group to bring affordable housing units to San Antonio’s city center. The Museum Reach Lofts will offer 86 units for households earning 30 – 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), with some units renting for as little as $333 dollars per month. The development also includes eight market-rate units. To finance the project, Alamo Community Group secured a 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocation and support from the City of San Antonio. LISC provided a $3 million acquisition loan and LISC’s National Equity Fund provided $12 million in LIHTC equity to ensure this new housing would be affordable to service workers in the downtown and Pearl areas.

Cesar Chavez Foundation Culebra Apartments

LISC extended a $1.2 million acquisition loan to the California-based Cesar Chavez Foundation (CCF) for the development of the Culebra Apartments.

This 251-unit new construction project in northwest San Antonio is being financed with a combination of a 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits and other funding. Culebra will offer a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units targeting families earning 50-60 percent of AMI; the project will also include a learning center for residents.