The City of San Antonio is identifying its proposed projects for the 2017 bond package. The more than 150 projects touch nearly every corner of the city.
About $850 million in projects is what San Antonio voters will look at approving next year. Mike Frisbee, the city’s capital improvements and transportation director, says many projects were born out of the city’s master plan.
“Every project in the bond has to do with SA Tomorrow, every single project,” he says.
Half of the bond is going towards streets, sidewalks, and bridges with 59 projects. Some of the main corridors proposed for improvements are the West Commerce corridor, South Alamo, Broadway, and connectors from Harry Wurzbach and Austin Highway.
The rest of the bond covers flood control and drainage, parks and rec, and facilities like library improvements and a downtown headquarters for Park Police.
City Manager Sheryl Sculley says there is about $21 million set aside to include affordable housing for the first time in a bond.
“We have several vacant areas in the community or areas where we need to remove some old structures where we can build additional housing so that all areas of the community have affordable housing,” she says.
The city can’t spend bond money directly on housing projects due to city charter restrictions. The city can, however, buy land to improve the property and sell it to developers. The city is looking at 12 possible areas to use those funds. That includes redevelopment around South Park Mall, Blanco and West Avenue, and the Naco Perrin area.
