Michael Karlis
Residents at the Soap Factory Apartments would be displaced if the San Antonio Missions' new ballpark project is approved by City Council, according to details unveiled Wednesday.
The prospect of the 7,500-capacity ballpark for the Double-A San Antonio Missions displacing low-income housing came to light during a presentation at City Council's A session on Wednesday afternoon.
At the meeting, city Chief Financial Officer Ben Gorzell Jr. revealed that the 381-unit Soap Factory Apartments, 500 N. Santa Rosa St., would need to be demolished to make way for the stadium and surrounding entertainment venues.
The Soap Factory — owned by downtown developer and major Missions stakeholder Weston Urban — is one of a limited number of center-city complexes that offer low-income housing units. Indeed, Jimmy Arriaga, a resident, told the Current on Thursday that many of its renters are recent immigrants with limited options for finding affordable shelter.
"They can't get housing anywhere else, only here," Arriaga said.
Gorzell said during Wednesday's meeting that residents displaced by Phase I of the ballpark project, scheduled for a 2027 completion, would be offered the chance to relocate to other Soap Factory units — if there's space.
That first phase of the project would raze a portion, but not all, of the complex.
Low-income tenants pushed out by phase II — during which the remainder of the Soap Factory would be torn down and replaced with retail space — would be able to move to the Continental Block development, another Weston Urban project, according to the presentation.
However, moving those residents into new dwellings may easier said than done.
The Continental Block won't be completed until after the Soap Factory units are demolished, according to details shared at Wednesday's meeting by Weston Urban. The second phase is scheduled for a 2029 completion.
That creates the prospect that some of San Antonio's most vulnerable residents may be out on the streets.
Weston Urban, co-founded by former Rackspace CEO Graham Weston, has quietly scooped up land in downtown's Northwest quadrant, including near Fox Tech High School's old baseball field, the planned site for the Missions' new park. The Continental Block won't be completed until after the Soap Factory units are demolished, according to details shared at Wednesday's meeting by Weston Urban. The second phase is scheduled for a 2029 completion.
That creates the prospect that some of San Antonio's most vulnerable residents may be out on the streets.
As part of that buying spree, Weston Urban snapped up the Soap Factory in August 2023, according to the San Antonio Report.
During Wednesday's presentation, only two council members balked at the Soap Factory's potential demolition: District 2's Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 5's Teri Castillo.
"I think the fact that tenants have to wait until this project is completed to be relocated into an affordable unit demonstrates the lack of workforce housing downtown," Castillo said.
"I understand that this is ultimately a private project in regards to the market rate housing that's going to be developed, but it's publicly facilitated," she continued. "That's why we're having this conversation, and I believe that it's a disservice to San Antonio residents all throughout the city for this body to not request … deeply affordable housing on this project."
Indeed, the ballpark project, if approved by council, would be funded by bonds whose debt would be repaid via a new Houston Street Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. The development would not be funded by San Antonio residents' tax dollars, officials from the Missions' front office maintain.
In short, the project is structured as a public-private partnership.
Weston Urban CEO and co-founder Randy Smith responded to Castillo's concerns by saying his company will help residents navigate the housing market to find affordable units.
Adam Doe
District 2 City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez airs his concerns about the demolition of the Soap Factory Apartments during Council's A Session on Wednesday.
"This is a project that is all but guaranteed to cause direct displacement, which would prevent it from receiving funding from the housing trust or a future housing bond, for example, if the project was submitted there," he said. "And, so, the broader question the community would ask is: what makes this the exception to our anti-displacement policy?"
McKee-Rodriguez asked if Soap Factory residents had been consulted in Weston Urban's plans and whether they had been notified of their possible eviction and forced relocation.
"Until it is a certainty, it is not our policy to alarm our tenants," Smith said in response. "The communication with them will be, um, today. Our management team, we've let them know today about this meeting. The replacement, I mean, displacement plan going forward starts with onsite relocation. I realize that's not a perfect effort, but the very first units affected by redevelopment will have the opportunity to move to similar units onsite."
However, when the Current asked five Soap Factory residents on Thursday if they had been notified of the landlord's relocation plans, all said they'd heard nothing from management.
What's more, units are still listed for lease on the complex's website, starting at $667 for a studio apartment.
The Missions ballpark project isn't finalized yet, but a tentative plan would put the project before council consideration on Aug. 29, according to Wednesday's presentation.
Meanwhile, a resident at the Soap Factory who asked only to be identified as Patrick H., said he wants to start a petition and organize other tenants against the plan. He said he only learned about the potential displacement when the Current spoke to him Thursday.
"This is really messed up," he said.
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