SAISD trustees discusses the terms of a potential land sale deal with real estate developer Weston Urban during Monday’s meeting. Credit: Michael Karlis

San Antonio Independent School District agreed Monday to negotiate the sale of a key plot of land needed to construct a new stadium for the San Antonio Missions baseball team, potentially clearing one of the project’s final hurdles.

SAISD’s board voted to begin discussions with the Missions’ ownership group, Designated Bidders LLC, and real-estate developer Weston Urban to sell 2.3 acres of land needed for the downtown arena. The property is now used as a parking lot for Fox Tech High School.

Designated Bidders wants to build the 4,500-seat stadium to relocate the minor-league team out of its aging West Side ballpark. Meanwhile, Weston Urban, whose CEO Randy Smith sits on the Mission’s board, wants to develop the land around the new sports facility.

Plans for the development, which carries a total $160 million price tag, also call for razing the Soap Factory Apartments, a low-cost housing complex that’s become a focal point in debate over the potential land sale.

In exchange for its parcel, SAISD wants a seat on the San Antonio Housing Trust, land for a new Advanced Learning Academy and a new parking garage paid for by the county.

To replace affordable housing lost with the Soap Factory’s demolition, SAISD also wants the city and county to adopt a five-year measurable housing plan that includes building 1,250 affordable units within the district.

SAISD Superintendent Jaimie Aquino said failures by the city and county to protect affordable housing left the district little choice but to hold them accountable.

“I think we’re getting the attention of the city and the county on this very important issue that’s maybe been neglected,” Aquino said. “It is good to be at the table policing what we’ve heard from our community. That’s why now the attorneys need to get involved in terms of what is the accountability that we can have.”

Indeed, affordable downtown housing emerged as the hot topic at Monday’s meeting.

The majority of the several dozen people who spoke at the gathering lambasted the city for its policy failures on affordable housing. Activists, former teachers and Soap Factory tenants voiced outrage that residents who have already vacated the apartment complex haven’t yet received $2,500 relocation stipends promised by the city and Weston Urban.

“I want to thank the board for being the only local government body to attempt to focus on the greater good,” said Armador Salazar, communications director for District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo. “That is commendable. Seemingly, the city and county … we didn’t pull through on that, unfortunately, and it’s a disservice to our community, and that’s the reason why working people largely have a distrust of our elected officials.”

Salazar said he was speaking at the meeting as a private citizen. Castillo didn’t respond to the Current’s request for comment on the Soap Factory displacement.

When the city signed its deal with Weston Urban in September, a clause was added that called for providing qualified Soap Factory tenants who left the complex with $2,500 in relocation assistance.

The city and Weston Urban didn’t specify until last week that they would only disburse the funds if the parties could reach a deal with SAISD on the land sale. Members of the SAISD board said Monday they’re hopeful a finalized contract will be ready for signatures at the board’s Jan. 21 meeting.

SAISD Trustee Sarah Sorensen, the only board member to vote against Monday’s proposal, also lambasted the city for appearing to ignore its own affordable housing policies when approving the stadium project. Under San Antonio policy, tax increment reinvestment zone projects such as the one funding the ballpark  development “shall not cause direct residential displacement.”

City Manager Erik Walsh told the Express-News in October that the policy doesn’t apply because the stadium itself isn’t causing direct displacement, only the surrounding development.

“It’s very frustrating to have policies on the books that should have prevented this from happening,” Sorensen said. “And this $2,500 — it wasn’t until recently that we got a clarification memo from Eric Walsh that said exactly how it was going to be implemented, and it’s different from what folks heard before.”

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...