Opportunity Home San Antonio has launched an extensive $2.5 billion long-term strategic plan aimed at repairing, acquiring, and constructing nearly 15,000 residential units by 2037. The initiative represents a massive transformation in how the municipal housing authority operates and finances affordable living options across the city.
The sweeping proposal comes after decades of declining federal financial support, which has forced local housing officials to rethink traditional development models. To meet community needs, the agency is pivoting toward alternative revenue streams, including revenue bond issuances, private equity partnerships, developer agreements, and federal tax incentive programs.
To demonstrate the urgent need for reinvestment, housing authority officials recently highlighted the vast disparities between their oldest and newest properties. Among the most distressed is the Alazán-Apache Courts, a West Side complex constructed in the early 1940s that remains San Antonio’s largest public housing property.
The aging cinder-block buildings at Alazán-Apache lack basic modern conveniences. Tenants live without central air conditioning, leaving families to endure extreme summer heat, while units lack clothes dryer hookups and upper floors remain inaccessible to mobility-impaired residents due to an absence of elevators.
Despite these severe physical shortcomings, Alazán-Apache continues to serve as an indispensable safety net for the city's lowest-income households. Housing leaders emphasize that modernizing such historic complexes is a moral imperative, as thousands of residents currently depend on them for shelter.
In stark contrast stands Snowden Living, a modern residential facility opened in 2025 within the South Texas Medical Center area. Designed for renters aged 62 and older spanning low to moderate income levels, the development features central climate control, in-unit laundry equipment, a swimming pool, a beauty salon, an on-site dog park, and a private theater room.
During a tour comparing the two facilities, Opportunity Home Chief Executive Officer Michael Reyes underscored the agency’s vision for systemic change. Reyes remarked that visiting the older property represented looking into the past, while the newer complex embodied the organization's future standard for public housing.
Opportunity Home currently provides shelter and support to more than 65,000 residents across San Antonio. This figure includes roughly 18,000 individuals residing directly in public housing facilities or utilizing housing choice vouchers to lease units from private landlords throughout the metropolitan area.
A substantial portion of the $2.5 billion capital program will be dedicated to upgrading current properties. The housing authority intends to rehabilitate at least 6,000 public housing apartments—including potential structural overhauls at Alazán-Apache—alongside 2,500 mixed-income units, focusing on vital structural repairs, mechanical system modernizations, and amenity improvements.
In addition to property preservation, Opportunity Home plans to construct approximately 5,500 new residential units. The distribution of these units reflects a mixed-income strategy, with more than half designated for households earning at least 61% of the area median income, which stands at $100,600 for a four-person family according to federal benchmarks.
The remainder of the newly built properties will serve other income brackets, allocating 1,250 apartments to individuals earning between 51% and 60% of the median income, and 750 units for those making 31% to 50%. Only 500 of the proposed 5,500 new units will be reserved for households earning 30% or less of the median income, despite this category representing the highest demand in the region.
Housing authority officials explained that statutory federal restrictions and broader subsidy shortfalls have essentially halted the construction of traditional, deeply subsidized public housing nationwide. As a result, the agency must rely on mixed-income models to generate operating revenue while maintaining broader affordability goals.
To secure sites for upcoming development, the agency intends to collaborate closely with municipal entities and non-profit partners. These arrangements will involve property swapping and strategic land banking to assemble buildable tracts in desirable neighborhoods.
The strategic plan also includes the direct acquisition of 500 existing residential units. Aiyana Longoria, Opportunity Home’s chief strategy, data and innovation officer, noted that buying established properties is often more cost-effective than new construction, which currently averages $300,000 per affordable apartment, while expanding housing options in underserved areas.
Funding for the multi-billion-dollar endeavor relies heavily on creative financial structures. Roughly $1.5 billion is already being assembled through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, where private investors purchase tax credits from developers to offset their corporate liabilities.
Opportunity Home anticipates raising an additional $800 million by leveraging its financial standing. After securing an A+ credit rating from S&P Global Ratings, the housing authority can now issue revenue bonds and issue loans at favorable interest rates, providing the capital necessary to execute its ambitious 2037 development timeline.
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