San Antonio nonprofit Culturingua wants to offer affordable housing inside — or at least close to — one of the more expensive areas for homeownership in the city: the South Texas Medical Center.
That’s where most of the thousands of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian immigrants and refugees who live in San Antonio, and whom Culturingua serves, currently live — often in “subpar” apartment complexes, said Nadia Mavrakis, the nonprofit’s CEO.
As part of the Pathways to Prosperity Coalition, Culturingua seeks to establish a community land trust “focused on enabling affordable and attainable homeownership for low- and moderate-income residents living in the greater Medical Center,” Mavrakis told the San Antonio Housing Commission on Wednesday. “This [land trust] will initially focus on single-family homeownership and in the future aims to expand to commercial and community spaces as well.”
The nonprofit plans to start small with one or two homes, she said, which would be available to all income-eligible residents — not just the communities that Culturingua typically serves.
Culturlingua will purchase the land — which has not yet been identified — and residents will buy the home, leasing the land from the nonprofit.
While the city’s new community land trust policy is still under development, it’s likely that it allows for property tax exemptions, lowering the cost for both the nonprofit and the resident.
“There would be a mortgage set up for them to pay the home off over time and also there’s limits set on how much the home can appreciate,” Mavrakis told the San Antonio Report. “That ensures lasting affordability. If they resell the home in, say, 10 years, they can recoup some of the equity that’s been gained, but it’s not the same as the market rate. That way, the next homeowner can have the same opportunity.”
Whether these are somewhat temporary homes or “forever homes,” that’s up to the buyers, she said.
The Pathways to Prosperity Coalition — which includes city staff, local businesses and workforce and faith-based organizations — is supported by a three-year $1.5 million investment from Methodist Healthcare Ministries, Mavrakis said.
In addition to the land trust, the coalition works on leadership training for “community ambassadors” within refugee and immigrant communities and provides financial and housing counseling.
Methodist’s investment in the coalition is part of its multi-county Prosperemos Juntos, or Thriving Together, initiative that engages with coalitions across the mid-border region to listen, learn and help develop strategies to address the root causes of intergenerational poverty and poor health outcomes, said Jennifer Knoulton, vice president of community health and wellness.
“We’re working with coalitions that look at their own community, look at what we call the vital conditions that impact health,” such as housing, childcare, food access and transportation, Knoulton said, “And they’re co-creating a solution.”
Methodist’s new tagline is “broadening the definition of healthcare,” she noted. “We recognize that health is created in community and in order to address health, we have to broaden our reach. … We have to work across sectors — it’s not up to healthcare to improve health. It’s up to all of us.”
While the details and finances are still in the early stages, Culturingua and Methodist Healthcare Ministries have been working with affordable housing policy advocacy nonprofit and funder LISC San Antonio and have visited other community land trusts in Texas and Minnesota to learn best practices, Mavrakis said.
In San Antonio, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center started a community land trust initiative in 2021, which maintains several affordable West Side casitas for rent, focusing on households that earn up to 30% AMI ($18,600 for an individual).
The Mexican American Unity Council is also considering a land trust.
The city expects more similar initiatives to crop up as the community grapples with the housing affordability crisis, said Mark Carmona, chief housing officer.
“We’re trying to create [policy] that’s broad enough to allow for more development of community land trusts,” Carmona told the San Antonio Report.
This summer, Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) initiated a policy review process for land trusts, which could distribute unused city-owned land to community land trusts and set up guidelines for future trusts.
Carmona hopes the new policy will be approved by the end of the year.
San Antonio’s 10-year housing affordability plan approved in 2021 aimed to help 95,000 households that struggle to afford housing. One of the many strategies included was to establish and promote community land trusts.
Housing is “part of a larger financial empowerment strategy” that many nonprofits — and local governments — are implementing, Carmona noted. “Community land trust is one of the tools that we can utilize to help people get there in terms of creating wealth, creating capacity, being able to do more for their family.”