Brownsville’s oldest public housing site to get $56 million makeover

Plans of the Housing Authority of the city of Brownsville to completely transform Buena Vida, the city’s oldest public housing site, just took a huge leap forward.

The Brownsville Housing Opportunity Corporation, HACB’s development arm, and developer-partner Versa Development LLC last month received $56.4 million in 9% Housing Tax Credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). HACB already has a schematic of how the new Buena Vida will be laid out, and the design work can now proceed. San Antonio-based Able City Architecture is the architect on the project.

Buena Vida, built in 1938 with 150 units, covers six downtown blocks bordered by East Tyler and East Ringgold streets, and East 14th and East 16th streets. The TDHCA credits were awarded in three separate categories, reflecting what the new Buena Vida will look like: 82 units for senior housing, 80 units of multi-family dwellings, and a 50-unit “supportive housing community” for clients of Friendship of Women Inc.

Carla Mancha, HACB executive director, said the redevelopment plan for Buena Vida was built from input from residents of Buena Vida and surrounding neighborhoods, collected in dozens of meetings conducted over two years after HACB was awarded a HUD Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan grant in 2016.

The first phase of the resulting Choice Neighborhood plan was to build a new project, Poinsettia Gardens at Boca Chica, which HACB did with a state tax credit allocation of around $24 million.

“Most of the families from Buena Vida were relocated to Poinsettia Gardens,” Mancha said. “It was very important to build a new property so we could move the families out and not burden them with finding a unit.”

The multi-family and senior complexes at the new Buena Vida will complete phases one and two of the Choice Neighborhood plan. Poinsettia Gardens residents who were relocated from Buena Vida will be able to move back to the redeveloped Buena Vida if they choose, as will former residents of Buena Vida who relocate somewhere other than Poinsettia Gardens.

Mancha said the goal is to close on the projects in the second quarter of 2025 and then start construction. Tenants should be able to start moving into the new units in late December 2026, she said.

To honor Buena Vista’s history, one of the original buildings will be preserved, Mancha said, adding that the redevelopment also will feature commercial lease space fronting East 14th Street.

TDHCA awards housing tax credits to help finance the development or rehabilitation of rental properties that offer reduced rents and more affordable housing options for Texans around the state. These awards are an inventive for developers to build or rehab units for households earning up to 60% of median family income in their respective areas.

Luis Eduardo Garduno, HACB chairman and BHOC president, expressed thanks to TDHCA for supporting HACB/BHOC in their mission of creating housing opportunities.

“Access to affordable housing continues to be a challenge for families across the state of Texas, to include our community,” he said. “These three 9-percent Housing Tax Credit awards will provide 212 families with a home in Brownsville.”

Jesse Miller, HACB vice chairman, said applying for the credits is extremely competitive, with 103 applications coming in from across the state initially this year. Sixty-three applications ultimately were awarded, he said. How it works is TDHCA awards the credits to developers (BHOC in this case), which in turn sell them (in Texas, usually to banks), Miller said.

“The bank buys those tax credits and that money is used to fund the affordable housing,” he said. “It’s a way to fund a portion of the cost of affordable housing. Without these Affordable Housing Tax Credits, this really would not be possible.”

Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr. characterized it as an “enormous accomplishment” for HACB, a product of outside-the-box thinking on the part of the organizations’ leadership.

“The housing authority, they are their own developers,” he said. “Typically, third-party developers do these deals. (HACB) does it themselves and they keep the developer fee, and they reinvest that in the (mission). There are only two housing authorities in the state of Texas that do that: Brownsville and El Paso.”

Cowen noted that Buena Vida’s rebirth is another facet of downtown’s ongoing revitalization, as is HACB’s El Jardin Hotel project, which will have units available in November and should be finished by April 2025.

“This is a record win for our families to redevelop the Buena Vida neighborhood and increase the amount of affordable housing in the community,” he said. “Congrats to HACB CEO Carla Mancha, the entire HACB commission and HACB team. We have the best and most innovative housing authority in the state of Texas.”

HACB expressed gratitude to the mayor and city commission, state Sen. Morgan LaMantia and state Rep. Erin Gamez for their support during the application process.

Gloria Ocampo, Friendship of Women executive director, likewise praised the project for including a supportive housing component.

“This is a historic moment for FOW, one that will uplift our families when they are most in need,” she said. “Providing a safe place for survivors to transition to is an incredible achievement, and we are blessed to have HACB’s advocacy and support for our families.”