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There are 600 families in San Antonio with housing vouchers but no housing units to use them on. In this episode, Michael Reyes, Acting CEO of Opportunity Home, San Antonio's public housing authority, talks about the need for more landlords who accept housing vouchers and what the process is like for those interested. He also dispels a few common myths about public housing and the work of the housing authority.  

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The San Antonio Housing Trust is one of our city's best tools to increase affordable housing production. As Pete Alanis, Executive Director of the San Antonio Housing Trust, explains, it has several sides to it, all aimed at putting more units on the ground, whether through its own emerging developer capacity or by partnering with local developers. He dives deep into what affordability really means and shares some of the factors that are driving costs up and pushing housing further and further out of reach for many. Despite this, he and his team have their own innovative tricks to combat this.

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John Cooley of Terramark Urban Homes talks about how they have navigated the local codes and affordable housing incentive programs to introduce more affordable homeownership in older neighborhoods through townhome development. He talks about adapting to a shifting market by exploring the rent to own model, and then talks about two of their recent projects, both of which are on the Westside of San Antonio – one called The West End at Frio which is 24 units that was structured as a partnership that included the landowner, the City of San Antonio, and the San Antonio Housing Trust, and another one that’s in the works that is a partnership with a local church.

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Peggy Brimhall, a local developer in San Antonio, shares her journey into development and her experience with infill projects. She started off in finance and majored in architecture before venturing into development. Her first project was a four-unit townhome in Historic Government Hill, which she saw as an opportunity to improve the neighborhood. She faced challenges with zoning and community opposition but persevered. She then moved on to a 20-unit project in the non-historic part of Government Hill. Peggy discusses the challenges of small-scale infill development and the need for incentives and support. She also talks about the challenges of bank financing for small projects and her strategy for finding investors. She also highlights the importance of market research and community involvement in the development process. Pegy's goal is to continue making an impact in both small and large-scale projects to address the housing deficit in the city.

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In this episode, my guest, Mark Carmona, San Antonio's Chief Housing Officer, talks about his role and the current housing challenges in San Antonio. We discuss the need for coordination among different housing organizations and developers and the importance of a housing continuum that includes affordable rental homes, homeownership, and permanent supportive housing. Mark provides an overview of the city's Strategic Housing Implementation Plan (SHIP) and the $150 million housing bond that was passed in 2022 and how small developers can participate. We also talk about Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), how they can be low hanging fruit for affordable housing, and the city's efforts to increase community awareness and education around ADUs.

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Welcome to the Mission Affordable Podcast! In this inaugural episode, I introduce the purpose of the Mission Affordable Podcast which is to create more small developers who can develop missing middle housing on vacant lots. I also share my background and what motivated me to launch it, and the impact I hope it can make toward increasing affordability in San Antonio, Texas and beyond. I also talk about future episodes and the online community you can join to further your journey and network of support.