When Leo Gomez took the job as CEO of the Brooks Development Authority in 2013, his focus was on attracting market-rate housing to the new community built on the former Brooks Air Force Base.
It was an untested market for developers, but he’s had a lot of success: Residents can now choose between four apartment complexes, and two more are on the way.
Neighborhoods of townhomes and single-family rental homes are under construction.
Eleven years after the first apartment complex opened, the community — now known simply as Brooks — is about to welcome its first affordable housing and senior housing.
The San Antonio Housing Trust Public Facility Corp., or PFC, a nonprofit arm of the city of San Antonio, approved deals on June 21 with the California-based developer Lincoln Avenue Capital to build two complexes adjacent to each other at the crossing of Research Plaza and South New Braunfels Avenue: Sageland Flats, with 338 apartments all reserved for those making below the local area median income; and Cedar Ridge Terrace, with 239 units for low-income seniors.
“We’ve gotten to a point where we’ve established that market-rate works in this corner — in fact, not only for multifamily but for single-family,” Gomez said in an interview. “Now that we’re established on that end, we think we need to do the responsible thing that any community should do, and that is to find a way to integrate, responsibly, affordable housing.”
Gomez — whose family lived in affordable housing during part of his childhood in the Rio Grande Valley — described reaching out to Pete Alanis, executive director of the housing trust, to work on getting affordable housing built at Brooks. The housing trust then found a developer and secured federal low-income housing tax credits to fund the projects.
The complexes will also receive property tax exemptions because the PFC will own the sites. Both projects are expected to begin construction this summer and are scheduled to be completed in 2026.
When the complexes are completed, they will comprise about 15% to 20% of the total residential units at Brooks, Gomez said. “I think that’s a pretty good ratio,” he said.
The existing apartment complexes are more than 95% occupied, he said. Two more market-rate complexes are in the works: The 373-unit Caroline is expected to open this fall, while the 324-unit Altitude will break ground around that time.
Income-restricted housing
Both Sageland Flats and Cedar Ridge will consist entirely of income-restricted units.
Here are the details:
- At Sageland Flats, 53 of the units will be reserved for those making up to 30% of the San Antonio-New Braunfels area median income of $88,600; 234 for those making up to 60%; the remaining 51 for those making up to 70%, according to the housing trust. The rent for a one-bedroom will range from $498 to $1,328 a month; for a two-bedroom, from $597 to $1,594; and for a three-bedroom, from $690 to $1,841.
- At Cedar Ridge, 36 of the units will be reserved for those making up to 30% of the area median income; 167 for those making up to 60%; and the final 36 for those making up to 70%. Rent for a one-bedroom will range from $438 to $1,090, and for a two-bedroom, from $529 to $1,330.
Sageland Flats is expected to cost $96.8 million, and will be built with $35.2 million in federal low-income housing tax credits. Cedar Ridge — which will serve adults 55 and older — has a price tag of $65 million and is using $23.7 million in housing tax credits.
Gomez pointed out that Cedar Ridge will be within walking distance of Brooks’s Hangar 9 event space, VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Brooks Transit Center and the Greenline, a park which connects with the Mission Reach stretch of the River Walk.
“I’m delighted. I’m looking forward to it coming,” he said of Cedar Ridge. “It’s important, especially, here on the South Side with families wanting to stick together. Wanting to keep grandma and grandpa closeby. This will give a real opportunity for folks in the South Side to put their parents in a place that’s a mixed-use, vibrant community with plenty of amenities.”
More growth at Brooks
Brooks continues to grow, recently welcoming a produce farm operated by the Virginia-based grower Soli Organic, growing thyme, parsley, cilantro and basil plants.
“The innovative and welcoming environment along with the availability of local talent, and Brooks’ own community goal make this a perfect spot for our expansion,” said Luis Bogran, general manager of the Brooks facility, in an emailed statement.
A pair of 100,000 square-foot class A office buildings known as WatersEdge was completed earlier this year. So far, the only tenants are the Brooks Development Authority and a local business occupying a corner of the first floor, Gomez said, adding that his staff was looking “actively and aggressively” for other tenants.
Asked whether the large amount of vacant space was a concern, he said, “Of course it is. … I’m optimistic that, as in the past, we will end up with prospects that are looking at if not a single floor, an entire building.”
Los Cielos, a neighborhood of 490 single-family rental homes, is now under construction; 32 homes have been built and 29 of them leased, he said.
The local developer Terramark Urban Homes has so far built about 20 homes in the Southlake townhome development, with enough land to build at total of 63 homes, he said; about half of the 20 homes have been sold so far, at prices between $350,000 to $400,000.
He said he wasn’t happy with the demand for the homes at Southlake and Los Cielos.
“They’re doing well, and they’re selling well, the townhomes. Los Cielos are doing well. But we expected a waiting list for both properties, and that’s what’s concerning about it,” he said. “But it’s no different from anywhere else in the country – I would suggest the world right now. But we’re moving along with the developments, just like we did with the office buildings. The confidence is that ultimately, this tide will turn around.”
Disclosure: Leo Gomez is a member of the San Antonio Report’s board of directors.
