Previous rules stated that TIF-funded projects could not directly displace residents and required a displacement impact assessment for housing projects, but the council\u2019s new rules expand which projects can be examined for possible displacement and when and where that kind of scrutiny can take place.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SoapFactoryApartments_Phase1OneDemolition_MissionsBaseballDevelopment_SanPedroCreek_SantaRosaMartinS.jpeg\")
Demolition on the Soap Factory Apartments is underway at the phase one lot on the 500 block of North Santa Rosa and West Martin streets to make way for Urban Weston\u2019s Missions Baseball development seen from San Pedro Creek on March 18, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
The rules now require an impact assessment for all TIF-funded construction and sets out a specific area of at least a quarter-mile around any project that must be studied. Officials can look at displacement two years before any TIF application, as well as future additions to a project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of the updates were really to ensure that we have residential stability and that we are identifying any potential displacement risk early so we can proactively work with development teams and mitigate any negative impacts to the surrounding neighborhood on this on any projects,\u201d said Veronica Garcia, director of the city\u2019s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, who laid out the updates at a Housing Commission meeting last week.<\/p>\n
If the assessment shows construction displacing residents, the developer must come up with a plan to \u201cmitigate the effects of potential displacement.\u201d Department officials said they would \u201cevaluate projects on a case-by-case basis\u201d and that the new policy only applies to prospective TIF-funded projects after March 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CityCouncil_SpecialSession_MayorCensure_05_02.27.2026_AmberEsparza0A.jpg\")
District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia listens to comments from the public during a city council special session meeting discussing the censure of San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on Feb. 27, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Councilman Edward Mungia (D4) led the effort to make the changes after seeing the city\u2019s assessment of the Soap Factory Apartments. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re splitting hairs with that,\u201d Mungia replied. \u201cI understand that the actual physical project didn\u2019t displace [anyone], but the plan that encompasses it did.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a Jan. 17 council meeting, city officials said the Missions\u2019 new ballpark is not displacing residents because it\u2019s other parts of the project \u2014 a mixed-use development around the stadium \u2014 that are being built in the Soap Factory footprint.<\/p>\n
What happened at Soap Factory?<\/p>\n
A total of 189 households needed to move out of the Soap Factory apartments before the first phase of demolition in September, after more than a year of back-and-forth discussions about if and how the buildings should be demolished.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Downtown-Ballpark-TIRZ-Courtesy-Cosa-4.jpg\")
Credit: Courtesy \/ City of San Antonio<\/p>\n
Downtown developer Weston Urban purchased the 381-unit apartment complex<\/a> in 2023 and announced plans to build a mixed-use district around the stadium in August 2024. This week, those plans were revealed<\/a> in detail \u2014 a 160-key hotel and two residential towers with nearly 700 housing units combined.<\/p>\n The ballpark itself would cost $160 million. The Missions\u2019 ownership group would contribute $34 million upfront and $126 million would come from<\/a> the Houston Street TIRZ. That\u2019s the same kind of public funding mechanism that got new rules from City Council this week.<\/p>\n Back in August 2024, the city asked Weston Urban<\/a> to guarantee development \u2014 now in the form of its proposed hotel and residential construction \u2014 and to rehouse residents of all 381 units at the Soap Factory.<\/p>\n The apartments were some of the last \u201cnaturally occurring\u201d affordable housing in downtown. This is because the complex was built in the 1970s and lacked upgraded amenities. Monthly rents averaged $700 for studio apartments and $1,300 for two-bedroom apartments.<\/p>\n The apartments are on the edge of the downtown ZIP code, where apartments tend to be more expensive. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition<\/a>, fair market rent for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments a few blocks away are $1,260 and $1,530, respectively.<\/p>\n Rent for units at 300 Main<\/a>, also owned by Weston Urban, start at $1,600 for a studio.<\/p>\n The developer and the city proposed a novel rehousing plan<\/a> 18 months ago. Each entity committed $250,000, totaling half a million dollars, in relocation assistance funds to move residents off the property.<\/p>\n Now, after the demolition and move-outs have started, the results of that rehousing program, which Weston Urban called the first of its kind in San Antonio, are clearer.<\/p>\n Soap Factory is being demolished in three phases. The first was in 2025 with subsequent phases planned before 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n Weston Urban and the city have since helped 99 affected households find new housing outside Soap Factory, while another 43 households have been temporarily moved to apartments that will be demolished later.<\/p>\n In an October interview, Garcia and Weston Urban CEO Randy Smith shared details about that relocation effort. Because it was entirely new to San Antonio, they said, there was no clear blueprint for how to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned that this can be done at a micro-scale, with a city partner in a way that listens to people and respects people and ultimately achieves the goal that it\u2019s set out,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n Weston Urban said it didn\u2019t raise rents and left dozens of apartments open at Soap Factory that wouldn\u2019t be demolished for years.<\/p>\n The company tried not to pursue evictions, even when residents were months behind on rent, said David Robinson, the former Weston Urban development manager who helped oversee the rehousing effort. <\/p>\n \u201cNo leases were ended prematurely,\u201d Robinson said in October. \u201cWe granted extensions month to month. Throughout the last year, they\u2019ve had ultimate flexibility to leave whenever they want, with no payment penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, city officials said just over 75% of Soap Factory residents had either been moved into later construction phases or rehoused entirely.<\/p>\n Weston Urban worked with nonprofit Building Better Communities to provide wraparound services when residents moved out. BBC and city staff provided help on a case-by-case basis, helping residents find new homes in their desired neighborhoods and assisting with transportation, job hunting and other needs.<\/p>\n Residents who were current on their rent payments were qualified to receive $2,500 from the relocation fund, but those who were behind on rent did not qualify. City officials said 37 households did not qualify for the assistance and 10 others could not be contacted.<\/p>\n Philip Adcock, a resident, housing advocate and vocal critic of the planned demolition, said some residents were unable to find stable housing in San Antonio. He did not qualify for the relocation assistance and in the fall he moved to Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Luis Alvarado and his wife were living in their car before they moved into the Soap Factory in 2024. Alvarado had spent the prior two years without housing.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we could progress,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very much a foundation we thought we could build on.\u201d<\/p>\n Alvarado said that stability didn\u2019t last. Rehousing was stressful and he lost his job during that time, causing him to fall behind on rent and fail to qualify for assistance. <\/p>\n Other residents who did receive assistance, like Robert Laurence, said communication to residents about what to expect could have been better.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a lot of work on my end to follow up all the time. It seems like I was taking ownership of following up,\u201d Laurence said during an interview in July.<\/p>\n Officials said communication had been a challenge. Building trust with the residents took time. There were gaps between when the relocation program was announced and when it was implemented.<\/p>\n \u201cWe learned that it\u2019s going to take longer than the time that you think it\u2019s going to take, and a lot of that is because a lot of our work is continuing to build trust in the community,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n Soap Factory resident Gabriel Garcia moved from Phase I to Phase II in September, which gave him more time. Communication with management had been clear, he said while moving, and he was ready to move when the time came.<\/p>\n But for residents like Alvarado, the process was much rockier. He and his wife are currently staying with a relative, trying to get back to some stability.<\/p>\n Alvarado said the experience has eroded his faith in local government. He doesn\u2019t want to rent an apartment again, and added that he\u2019s not even sure he would want to buy a home in San Antonio.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t us falling through the cracks, this is you sifting us so we\u2019ll fall through,\u201d he said. \u201cI would like the city to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n More development on the horizon<\/p>\n For Weston Urban, the ballpark project was an opportunity to build denser, more diverse and higher quality housing downtown. The Soap Factory apartments were 50 years old. Residents and landlords agreed the building needed upgrades.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsent some sort of major governmental intervention, these type of properties cannot sustain themselves in urban centers,\u201d Smith said in October. \u201cWe are in the business of developing and redeveloping downtown \u2026 that means a broad range of product types at a broad range of price points.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery great American city has a great downtown, we should aspire to be a great American city,\u201d he added later.<\/p>\n Smith said the rehousing program at Soap Factory will continue for the more than 200 units that are in Phases II and III.<\/p>\n The Missions baseball team currently plays at the aging Nelson Wolff Municipal stadium on the West Side and its owners plan to move downtown in 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n Adcock argued it would have been worth upgrading the apartments to keep people housed. Alvarado asked who benefits from future development as the city prepares for a new baseball stadium and basketball arena in the downtown core.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve definitely lost a lot of faith and there\u2019s a lot of sour in my mouth with anything government,\u201d Alvarado said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time a major project has affected housing in San Antonio. In the 1960s, a reported 1,600 people were displaced<\/a> to build Hemisfair, which was part of a larger urban renewal effort that altered the city\u2019s core. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Brenda-Bazan-missions-special-city-council-session-5.jpg\")
Maureen Galindo, who was a resident of the Soap Factory apartments, storms out of a city council special session as Assistant City Manager Lori Houston talked about the displacement of residents for the development of a Missions baseball stadium downtown on Sept. 29, 2024. Luis Alvarado and his girlfriend Celia Coronado can be seen seated behind Galindo. Credit: Brenda Baz\u00e1n \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774174873_200_SoapFactoryApartments_Phase1OneDemolition_MissionsBaseballDevelopment_SanPedroCreek_SantaRosaMartinS.jpeg\")
Demolition on the Soap Factory Apartments is underway at the phase one lot on the 500 block of North Santa Rosa and West Martin streets to make way for Urban Weston\u2019s Missions Baseball development seen from the former parking lot entrance on Santa Rosa across from the CHRISTUS Children\u2019s Hospital on March 18, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Bria-Woods-Soap-Factory-displacement-baseball-field-Weston-Urban-downtown-Randy-Smith-TOP-9SEP2024-1.jpeg\")
Residents of Soap Factory Apartments take turns addressing community members and housing advocates during a forum outside of the apartment complex at the 500 block of North Santa Rosa Street on Sept. 9, 2024. Luis Alvarado and his girlfriend Celia Coronado can be seen seated center front. Credit: Bria Woods \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SoapFactoryApartmentsResident_MissionsBaseballDevelopment_DowntownHousing_WestonUrbanDisplacement_02.jpeg\")
Former Soap Factory Apartments resident Luis Alvarado talked with the San Antonio Report about his housing transition after he was displaced from his unit that was located in phase one the Urban Weston Missions Baseball development on Nov. 11, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"Weston](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ScottBall_-missions-baseball-development-sports-council-vote-designated-bidders-9-12-20241419.jpg\")
Weston Urban CEO and part owner of the San Antonio Missions Randy Smith appeals to City Council to vote in favor of the development of a downtown ballpark. Credit: Scott Ball \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n