March 09, 2024

Congressman Castro Gets $10.6 Million in Funding for Housing, Libraries, Safer Streets, and More Community Projects in San Antonio

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) announced that his office has secured $10.6 million through the Fiscal Year 2024 federal appropriations process to support thirteen community projects, including affordable housing, library campus development, safe streets construction, and water pumps to help ensure that San Antonio households can continue to receive safe drinking water during power outages. The funding is included in HR 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which passed through both houses of Congress this week and is now awaiting President Biden’s signature.

“I’m always proud to get funding to support the incredible work that organizations in our community are doing to improve lives in San Antonio,” said Congressman Castro. “The awards I’m announcing today will target high-priority needs – from housing and libraries to safer streets – that will make a big difference in neighborhoods across our city. My office worked closely with our community partners to identify shovel-ready projects that will make a lasting impact, and I look forward to seeing the benefit of these awards for years to come.”

Climate Resilience

  • $959,752 for the City of San Antonio for Generators for Pump Stations Project to ensure water pumping stations remain operable during extreme weather events and electricity outages by installing generators and pumping stations across San Antonio.

Affordable Housing and Homeowner Resources

  • $500,000 for the Women's Live and Learn Center: Workforce Development and Housing for Women to rehabilitate a building to provide secure housing and enable people to enroll in post-secondary, workforce certification, education, and training.
  • $765,081 for the Uplifting and Empowering Families through Energy Efficiency to improve the energy efficiency of the Transitional Living and Learning Center at SAMMinistries by replacing old windows, installing select Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners, and fitting shut-off valves in resident showers in the 60-year-old building.
  • $850,000 for the Critical Needs Infrastructure for Affordable/Workforce Housing Communities for maintenance, renovations, and critical repairs identified through conducting a physical needs assessment at two properties owned by Opportunity Home San Antonio, which will preserve the affordable housing stock in San Antonio.
  • $1,000,000 for the SaveNow Casa Verde Weatherization Program to expand the reach and impact of Casa Verde, an energy efficiency program by CPS Energy that targets low-income residents in San Antonio with home repairs.
  • $1,000,000 for the Project Building Up to repair the homes of low-income homeowners in TX-20 to address Americans with Disabilities Act modifications, energy consumption, and safety issues among other concerns to provide better living conditions for the homeowners.

Community-Building and Community Resources

  • $135,000 for the Las Palmas Library Branch New Learn Center Construction to fund the construction of a new Learn Center at the Las Palmas Library, which will help adults with workforce development skills.
  • $250,000 for the BiblioTech Lermas Parking Lot Redevelopment to acquire property to redevelop land to create a parking lot to enable access to the BiblioTech Digital Library, which helps bridge the digital divide throughout San Antonio.
  • $750,000 for the South San Civic Center Renovation to renovate, update, and correct the South San Civic Center to accommodate residents and be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • $1,000,000 for the Community Economic Empowerment Project to rehabilitate a building in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood to turn it into a Community Economic Empowerment center.

Transit Infrastructure

  • $850,000 for the VIA Second Maintenance and Operations Facility Planning to cover costs associated with the public involvement, planning, engineering, and environmental studies leading to land acquisition for the Second Maintenance and Operations Facility.
  • $1,616,279 for the Port San Antonio Complete Streets Conversion to convert three streets: General Hudnell Dr., General McMullen Dr., and Billy Mitchell Boulevard into a network of complete streets on the Port San Antonio campus, which will expand pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure and provide safety improvements to transit infrastructure for residents.

Medical Research

  • $963,000 for the Medicinal Chemistry Infrastructure for Hepatic Steatosis Therapeutic to acquire laboratory equipment and instrumentation for the Center for Innovation Drug Discovery (CIDD-HS) where new chemical synthetic techniques will be generated to discover novel treatments for hepatic steatosis.

Since the Community Project Funding process launched in 2021, Congressman Castro has secured more than $26 million for many community projects – from incubators that help small businesses to programs that support home rehabilitation. To learn about his FY2022 community projects, click here. For his FY2023 projects, click here.