Housing and Urban Development secretary tours new East Side housing project

East Meadows Apartments replaces crime-ridden, run-down Wheatley Courts

SAN ANTONIO – Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, now U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary, got a firsthand look at the East Meadows Apartments Friday morning.

The apartments were built on property that once was Wheatley Courts, one of the city’s oldest public housing projects, which had become a run-down area that was rife with criminal activity.

The new housing units, which are the result of a partnership among HUD, the San Antonio Housing Authority and the City of San Antonio, accommodates a growing housing need in the city, according to Secretary Castro.

“San Antonio is at a point where the rent is going up. The cost of homes is going up significantly, so we need to invest more in affordable housing,” Castro said.

Castro said that the significance of the development extends well beyond the new housing units.

“It also adds to the momentum of redevelopment on the East Side,” Castro said. “So it’s a victory in different ways, not just for the residents who live here, but for the folks throughout the East Side.”

The first phase of the project includes 215 family apartment homes, with construction already underway on senior housing units.
 


About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.