MAUC Set to Open Apartment Complex
New tax-credit facility will offer more affordable housing on the North Side. -
Vianna Davila EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER
Publication Date : August 25, 2004

The Mexican American Unity Council, a West Side fixture known for its efforts to spur economic development and education, will open a new tax-credit apartment complex on the North Side next year.

Construction on the Stonehouse Apartments, 4950 Woodstone Drive, started last week and could be complete by next spring, according to Manish Verma, vice president of GMAT II Development, the lead developers for the project.

“Most of the affordable housing in San Antonio has been built on the South Side or on the West Side of town but not on the North Side,” Verma said. “It’s just an area with such a large employment base but with a lack of affordable housing.”

Stonehouse will include 248 tax-credit apartments with five different floor plans, a full-service clubhouse, office facility and swimming pool. Rents will range from $530 to $725, according to MAUC Executive Director Frances Terán.

While the immediate West Side is the MAUC special impact area, the group provides services throughout the county, Teran said. The new North Side tax-credit apartments fill a real need for affordable housing for employees working in the highly commercial area near the Medical Center, the University of Texas at San Antonio and USAA, she said.

“People who work in that area deserve an opportunity to live in the community where they work,” Terán said.

The goal of tax-credit apartments is to ensure that tenants spend no more than 30 percent of their income on housing, she said.

“This allows them to properly feed their families, to have transportation, all of those other things that a household needs,” Terán said.

MAUC will retain ownership of the project. GMAT II Development, Chiles Architects, Galaxy Builders and MMA Financial will work together on the physical development and financing. Tax-credit apartments are made more affordable by allowing large corporations to buy the credits, underwrite the projects and lower the cost for developers.

“The nonprofit brings services to the residents,” said Gregory Thorse, president of GMAT II Development. “They bring affordable housing with services for people that are in need.”
Stonehouse is the second tax-credit apartment complex MAUC has built. The first was Las Villas de Merida 1700 S. Hamilton St., which opened last year.

The North Side complex will be located in Art Hall’s City Council District 8. He was not on hand for the apartment groundbreaking two weeks ago but said the new development reflects the diversity of the district and the need to serve people of all income levels.

“Generally, I think we need provisions of housing throughout District 8 that span the spectrums of income,” Hall said. “There’s lots of people that work at the Medical Center and throughout the district at various jobs, and it’s important to have affordable housing and other traditional housing in the area.”

Apartments should be available to lease next April, Verma said.

Once the complex opens completely, MAUC will provide social services to tenants, Terán said.

“I think it’s important that the community know that affordable housing is needed everywhere. It’s another economic generator for any community and any neighborhood,” she said.