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Gus Bova
@gusbova
Replying to
@gusbova
Today something kind of wild is happening. After years of community pushback, the San Antonio Housing Authority is cancelling a proposed partnership with a private developer that would've led to the loss of hundreds of units of public housing:
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Gus Bova
@gusbova
The details aren't all clear. But you'll see they're pledging to maintain or increase the number of public housing units. They're going to keep control of the development rather than privatizing ownership/management. This is basically a 180 turnaround for the agency.
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Gus Bova
@gusbova
There are a couple of stated reasons. One is the inauguration of the Biden administration. The housing authority says it's hearing that new money will now open up for public housing, lessening the pressure to pursue privatization and tax credits.
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Gus Bova
@gusbova
Again, not all the details are in -- but what I'm trying to say is that this news is *surprising*. As I wrote in my feature, we've seen 5 decades, more or less unbroken, of privatization and demolition of public housing.
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Gus Bova
@gusbova
During the mtg today, the SAHA board ran through the community concerns they had received, and then said, ok we're changing our plan based on those concerns. Like, what a concept!
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Gus Bova
@gusbova
Austin public housing basically all went through RAD w/o a peep... The community pushback on west side of SA is totally different... Maybe has something to do with the different stages of gentrification of the areas or idk... I've def pondered what you're saying tho