Opportunity Home plans to rebuild the Alazan-Apache public housing project after initially seeking to demolish it. Heron file photo By Richard Webner | San Antonio Current contributor This article is republished with permission from the San Antonio Current, which first ran the piece on Nov. 30, 2022. More than 60,000 families are waiting to get an affordable housing unit from Opportunity Home San Antonio, the local housing authority. Lisa Vogt and her three children are among them. Like many on the list, Vogt can tell a story about how the circumstances of her life, coupled with San Antonio’s ..read more

HERON FILE PHOTO Ben Olivo, co-founder and editor of the San Antonio Heron, has accepted a job as local government editor at The Seattle Times. A little more than a month ago, the Seattle newspaper reached out to Ben and encouraged him to apply for an open position; another was eventually offered and he accepted it recently. He begins his new position on Jan. 9. Ben Olivo The Heron board met Saturday and decided that the brand is too strong, the group too committed to nonprofit community journalism, the following too great to let the online newspaper close for good. The Heron board moving forw ..read more

Have a Freetail flight and then some at our Benefit Beer Tasting. Heron photo The San Antonio Heron and Freetail Brewing Co. are teaming up for a beer tasting event this Thursday in support of local journalism—and also just in time for their kitchen to open. The Benefit Beer Tasting @Freetail supports the Heron and our content focussed on downtown growth and neighborhood change during our NewsMatch campaign, which ends Dec. 31. Each ticket includes an exclusive guided beer tasting inside the Freetail brewing room with Brewing Manager Jason Davis. Here are the details: Benefit Beer Tasting @Fre ..read more

The city of San Antonio is set to distribute $43.9 million for the production and rehab of housing. Photo by Isaiah Alonzo | @isaiah__alonzo | Heron contributor By Ben Olivo | @rbolivo | Heron editor San Antonio is about to get one of its largest cash infusions for affordable housing in recent memory. The city is preparing to disburse nearly $44 million to housing developers and landlords for the production of 686 apartments, the repair of another 1,775 units, and the construction of 71 single-family homes, the City Council heard in a briefing Nov. 30. The Alazan-Apache Courts public housing e ..read more

Pearl developer Oxbow Development Group, formerly under parent company Silver Ventures, is planning to build a 9-story apartment tower at 102 E. Josephine St. Photo by Ben Olivo | @sanantonioheron | Heron By Ben Olivo | @rbolivo | Heron editor Oxbow Development Group is moving forward with plans to build a 9-story mixed-use structure, which would include 250-275 market-rate apartments, on a full city block bound by East Josephine, Isleta, East Grayson and the San Antonio River. On Jan. 1, Oxbow split off from the Pearl; Silver Ventures is now the parent company of Pearl, Oxbow and Potluck Hosp ..read more

What is the future of downtown office space in this Covid era? What influence will major projects such as Hemisfair’s Civic Park and San Pedro Creek have on the downtown economy? What about all of the construction and the impact it’s having on small businesses? As downtown San Antonio continues to evolve, what are the economic challenges and opportunities on the horizon? These are some of the topics we’ll discuss during our inaugural business mixer called Cocktails and Conversation. Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, president and CEO of greater:SATX, will be our guest speaker, and Heron board member Mar ..read more

In May 2022, the property at 803 S. Medina St., north of the Guadalupe Street bridge, was purchased by a partnership managed by Bruce Hill, one of the investors buying the San Antonio Missions baseball team. Photo by Ben Olivo | @ben__olivo | Heron By Richard Webner | Heron contributor This article has been updated with a statement from UTSA about its downtown campus strategy. A partnership managed by Bruce Hill, one of the investors buying the San Antonio Missions double-A baseball team, purchased property on the near West Side in May, nearly adjacent to a site highlighted in a 2016 report as ..read more

Polk Street, between West Josephine and East Grayson streets, would be turned into a pedestrian space in Jake Harris’ mixed-use development. Courtesy CREO Architecture | @creoarc By Ben Olivo | @rbolivo | Heron editor North of downtown, California developer Jake Harris, who has been establishing a strong presence in San Antonio through his company Harris Bay in recent years, is planning to build a 1,000-unit, mixed-use apartment complex on West Josephine Street that would also touch the St. Mary’s Strip. It would add to the flurry of housing developments that are either in the planning stage o ..read more

A 29-story mixed-use tower that would stand on East Market Street within Hemisfair is being developed by Post Lake Capital Partners of Austin. Courtesy FitzGerald Associates Architects | @fitzarch. (This rendering also shows the proposed design for a 17-story hotel by Zachry Hospitality facing the same intersection by Overland Partners.) A major piece of the ambitious multi-phased development on the northwest corner of Hemisfair is going to the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) for conceptual approval on Wednesday. The renderings by FitzGerald Associates Architects of Chicago show t ..read more

Urban Genesis of Houston is planning to build 61 market-rate apartments here on the corner of East Elmira and North St. Mary’s streets. Courtesy Urban Genesis | @urban_genesis & HEDK Architects By Ben Olivo | @rbolivo | Heron editor Urban Genesis does not intend to waste time building on its three recently-acquired properties in Tobin Hill. The Houston developer says it’s on schedule to start construction on its holdings on and off North St. Mary’s Street—overall, a $45 million series of developments for a total of 178 market-rate apartments—by first quarter 2023. The company expects const ..read more