San Antonio's Showcase of Homes

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The City of San Antonio and the Greater San Antonio Builders Association jointly sponsored a ground breaking ceremony recently, celebrating the commencement of the development phase of the City of San Antonio's latest "Affordable Showcase of Homes" inner-city development.

This is the City's fifth "Showcase of Homes" but the first such development on San Antonio's "West Side". During the ceremony, a Mayoral Proclamation was issued designating June as Homeownership Month.

The City will take the lead role in developing the Arroyo Vista building site and nine home builders, all members of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association, will construct 52 affordable homes in this area when the development is completed and ready for new home construction.

A Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and other City funding will be used to develop the site and the homebuilders will construct the 52 new homes on a "speculative" basis utilizing private sector construction funding. The builders will then "sell" these homes to low-moderate income families who have a desire to live in this area of San Antonio. Local mortgage lenders will offer financing for the new homeowners.

The American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) funding will be available to help low- to moderate-income buyers move into these new homes. Home prices are expected to range from the low seventies to the high eighties and the City of San Antonio will conduct mandatory homebuyer counseling for families receiving ADDI assistance.

The City and the Greater San Antonio Builders Association plan to officially open Arroyo Vista to the public in December 2004 with 12 homes on display during a "Showcase of Homes". Construction will begin on the remaining homes following the event.

This project also support's HUD's "America's Affordable Communities Initiative" since the development will be constructed on land owned by the City of San Antonio. There will be no associated impact fees. The builders will also receive reductions in building permit fees, expedited plan checking and other incentives designed to make the housing constructed at Arroyo Vista more affordable for low- to moderate-income and "workforce" families.

These incentives, when passed along to the homebuyers, will translate into a tremendous cost savings not only in the base price of the new homes but also in the mortgage interest associated with these homes when financed over a buyer's traditional 30-year mortgage loan period.