AT RISK San Antonio Office of San Antonio Office of Historic - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

APRIL 28TH 2020 O PPO RTUNITY Cory Edwards Cory Edwards AT RISK San Antonio Office of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation Historic Preservation The Contribution of San Antonio’s Older Housing to Affordable Housing Katlyn Cotton PlaceEconomics Alyssa Frystak PlaceEconomics

Welcome to San Antonio! 7 th Largest Population 25 th Largest Metro Office of Historic Preservation • Historic De sig nation • De sig n Re vie w • De m olition Pe rm it Re vie w • Cultural Initiative s • Vacant Build ing s Ord inance

SAN ANTONIO'S OLDER HOUSING STOCK A la r g e r p e r ce n ta g e o f Sa n An to n io ’s h o u sin g sto ck w a s b u ilt b e tw e e n 19 15 a n d 19 3 0

SAN ANTONIO'S OLDER HOUSING STOCK Th e d e m o g r a p h ics o f Sa n An to n io ’s h isto r ic d istr icts a r e a sta tistica l m ir r o r fo r th e city a s a w h o le

DEMOLITION PERMITS Item Item 5 1 20% 20% Item Item 4 2 20% 20% Item 3 20%

Local Housing Programs $35 Million • Grants (m ultip le source s) • Ge ne ral fund sp e nd ing ($10 m il) • Local p artne rship s Homeowner Assistance Development Incentives Emergency / Risk Mitigation Acquisition

Potential Outcomes Owner-Occupied “Rehabilitation” • De m olition • Non-sustainab le b uild ing p ractice s and waste g e ne ration • Loss of characte r and authe nticity

Preservation and Affordability

HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAKING HITS IN THE MEDIA "Bu t h o u se s, w ith r a r e e x ce p tio n s, a r e n o t h isto r ica lly sig n ifica n t. Re sid e n tia l h isto r ic d istr icts m o stly se r v e to p r o te ct p r o p e r ty v a lu e s, a n d th e g o v e r n m e n t sh o u ld sto p p r iv ile g in g th a t g o a l o v e r o th e r v a lu e s lik e a cce ss to a ffo r d a b le h o u sin g ." “Th o se lim its o n r e n o v a tio n a n d co n str u ctio n a r e d ir e ctly co n n e cte d to th e fa ct th a t p e o p le liv e in te n ts u n d e r th e h ig h w a y a t th e e d g e o f m y n e ig h b o r h o o d .”

“Fo r m e r r e sid e n ts o f th e Ba r r y Fa r m p u b lic h o u sin g co m p le x in So u th e a st DC h a v e b e e n p u sh in g fo r m o n th s to g e t a h isto r ic d e sig n a tio n , w h ich th e y sa y w ill a llo w th e m to p r e se r v e so m e o f th e ir co m m u n ity ’s h isto r y — a n d p e r h a p s e x e r cise so m e co n tr o l o v e r th e p la n s fo r its r e d e v e lo p m e n t.”

SAN ANTONIO'S OLDER HOUSING STOCK "Th e e x istin g h o u sin g sto ck is th e m o st a ffo r d a b le h o u sin g w e h a ve ." Sa n An t o n io Re s id e n t , Ho u s in g Ta s k Fo rc e Me e t in g

Historic preservation is not causing an affordable housing crisis. In fact, older buildings (designated or otherwise) are playing an important role in meeting affordable housing needs. What we hop e you take away from this we b inar: • Data-d rive n arg um e nts to d e fe nd and ad vocate for p re se rvation • Tools and strate g ie s for p re se rving old e r, afford ab le housing • How San Antonio is using this re p ort to ad d re ss this issue

The Study This study looked at all housing built before 1960—not limited to historic districts. We looked at: • Characte ristics of old e r housing stock: size , location, cond ition • Contrib ution to afford ab ility: house hold incom e , re nt le ve ls, and p rop e rty value s • Share of this stock at risk • Tools to utilize this old e r housing • for afford ab ility

In San Antonio, 22% of all housing units we re b uilt b e fore 1960. 90% of the se are sing le fam ily p rop e rtie s. 90% of the se are not p rote cte d b y historic d e sig nation.

Where are they? Unsurprisingly, densely concentrated near downtown This is a m atte r of e q uity: worke rs with low wag e job s ne e d to b e locate d ne ar transit and job s in the Ce ntral Busine ss District. The se are also rap id ly ap p re ciating are as.

Who lives there? 81% of households in pre-1960 areas are Hispanic. Pre-1960 areas skew towards homeownership and longer tenure.

What are the incomes? 23% of households live in these block groups. Howe ve r, a larg e r share of low-incom e house hold s re sid e in the se b lock g roup s. Thirty-thre e p e rce nt (33%) of the house hold s m aking 60% AMI or le ss live in the se are as.

What size? Unit size is a major determinant of affordability. Th e s ize o f a n e w h o m e b u ilt to d a y is n e a rly d o u b le o n e b u ilt a c e n tu ry a g o (2 ,9 4 7 s q ft).

What condition? Pre-1960 units are more likely to be in average or fair condition. Ave rag e – e vid e nce of typ ical we ar and te ar, d e fe rre d m ainte nance can b e q uickly/che ap ly re solve d Fair – Minor re p airs ne e d e d to b ring it into ave rag e cond ition

What are the rents? “You cannot build new and rent cheap.” – PlaceEconomics Proverb Housing afford ab ility is typ ically d e fine d as 30% of a house hold ’s incom e .

Property Values The average assessed value is lower in pre-1960 properties, but they are increasing at a faster rate than the rest of the city. In p re -1960 p rop e rtie s, while the total value chang e d 46%, land value s alone incre ase d 68%. This m ake s the se p rop e rtie s incre asing ly vulne rab le to d e m olition. Eve ry we e k ove r the last te n ye ars, San Antonio has lost 3 units of p re - 1960 housing to d e m olition.

So what did we learn? And where can we intervene? Old e r housing te nd s to b e value d lowe r b e cause of its ag e , size , and cond ition. A larg e r share of low-incom e re sid e nts live in p re -1960 housing . The e xisting p re -1960 housing stock is p rovid ing larg e ly unsub sid ize d and unp rote cte d afford ab le housing . Whe re the land value e xce e d s the im p rove m e nt value , the se p rop e rtie s are vulne rab le to d e m olition and infill that furthe r chang e s the m arke t cond itions in that ne ig hb orhood .

Thinking about a tool framework

lowercase Up p ercase afford ab le housing Afford ab le Housing • Subsidized by public sector • Unsubsidized • Dependent on owner’s ability to • LIHTC & Housing Choice rehab & maintain building Vouchers economically • Often paired with federal & • Vulnerable to many variables state Historic Tax Credit

lowercase Up p ercase p reservation Preservation • Designated historic; Listed • Non-designated older building individually or as part of a district stock • Properties are eligible for • Makes up a large share of most preservation incentives city fabric • Often paired with LIHTC & other • Not eligible for preservation housing incentives incentives • Funding gap for rehab is common

Ask these questions Insert picture Insert picture Insert picture Who is the user? Affordable Housing or Preservation or Who does it benefit? affordable housing? preservation?

The Recommendations

RECOMMENDATIONS • Fam iliar p re se rvation ince ntive , b ut e xp and e d to old e r housing stock • Ad d e d to the arse nal of othe r asse ssm e nt- b ase d ince ntive s to cre ate a holistic tax ab ate m e nt toolkit ✔฀ Property owners ✔฀ Affordable Housing ✔฀ Preservation ✔฀ Developers ✔฀ affordable housing ✔฀ preservation Assessment Freeze

RECOMMENDATIONS • Cause safe ty issue s and can le ad to d e m olition • Costly b ut not visib le re p airs • Hard to re coup inve stm e nt in re nt • Re p aym e nt d e fe rre d until sold or at fixe d d ate ; lie n p lace d on p rop e rty ✔฀ Affordable Housing ✔฀ Preservation ✔฀ Property owners ✔฀ affordable housing ✔฀ preservation ✔฀ Developers Deferred Payment Loans for Structural Repairs

RECOMMENDATIONS • Risk associate d with re hab costs & low- to m od e rate - incom e b orrowe r’s ab ility to re p ay • An org anization p artne rs with a b ank to g uarante e a loan in case of d e fault • Loan for d own p aym e nt or re hab of old e r housing • Exam p le : Hab itat for Hum anity Virg inia ✔฀ Property owners ✖฀ Affordable Housing ✖฀ Preservation ✖฀ Developers ✔฀ affordable housing ✔฀ preservation Lender Risk Mitigation Program

• RECOMMENDATIONS Trad itional historic d istricts are g ove rne d b y contig uous g e og rap hy • Multip le Prop e rty Listing s (MPLs) are g ove rne d b y share d the m e s, te nd s, and p atte rns of history; non-contig uous • Citie s can d e sig nate old e r, afford ab le housing typ olog ie s as MPLs (b ung alows, shotg uns, 2-4 flats, e tc.) • Exam p le s: Bung alow MPL & Sing le Room Occup ancy Ap artm e nt Hote l MPL, Chicag o ✔฀ Property owners ✔฀ Affordable Housing ✔฀ Preservation ✔฀ Developers ✔฀ affordable housing ✖฀ preservation Multiple Resource Affordable Housing District