The Annex Group Pitches Affordable Housing in San Antonio

San Antonio’s East Side is set for another injection of density, with a $91 million affordable housing project on deck.

The Annex Group and local housing authority Opportunity Home plan to build a 279-unit complex dubbed Central at Commerce at 1231 East Commerce Street, less than a block east of St. Paul Square and downtown, and within walking distance of the Amtrak Station and the Alamodome. Construction is slated to kick off in February, with completion by the end of 2027, the San Antonio Business Journal reported. The development cost works out to $326,000 per unit.

The project will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with about half of units reserved for tenants earning 70 percent or less of the area median income; 24 percent will be reserved for tenants earning 60 percent AMI; 15 percent will be reserved for tenants earning 30 percent AMI; and 11 percent will be reserved for those earning 50 percent or less of the AMI.

To finance the deal, Opportunity Home is pursuing low-income housing tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, with a decision expected in December. The developers are seeking $41 million in tax credits spread over a decade.

Opportunity Home’s board has already authorized the agency to negotiate a memorandum of understanding to become a general partner in the venture, though final terms are still pending. On the city’s side, council has approved $6 million in gap funding from the 2022 affordable housing bond and is expected to sign off on a resolution of no objection for the tax credit application, a procedural step that keeps the financing moving.

The project comes as Opportunity Home is expanding through multiple partnerships. Just north of the proposed East Commerce site, it recently teamed with Lynd Living on The Josephine, which is now in lease-up. Central at Commerce would add hundreds more affordable units in a submarket where rising land and construction costs have strained developers’ ability to deliver income-restricted housing.

For the East Side, the plan underscores how long-discussed development momentum is finally materializing, with city-backed affordable housing playing a central role. If the tax credits land as expected, Central at Commerce could become one of the largest affordable multifamily projects in the area in years.

— Eric Weilbacher