FY2024 Community Project Funding Requests

Listed below are the projects Congressman Casar has submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration for FY24 Community Project Funding (listed in alphabetical order): 

Alazan Expansion

Project Recipient: Opportunity Home San Antonio

The proposed Alazan Expansion development is part of a larger plan to rehabilitate the Alazan Courts and ensure that Opportunity Home can continue serving the families of the Westside with dignity and care. The proposed design will include both rehabilitation of existing buildings and new construction to ensure that residents have high-quality, safe, sustainable housing for generations to come. The proposed development is for 88 new residential housing units located in the baseball field behind the Alazan Community Center and within an adjacent block of Apache Courts. Services are provided to Alazan residents through Opportunity Home’s Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Program. Opportunity Home is proud to provide 100 percent public housing at Alazan-Apache Courts, which serves some of the City’s most vulnerable residents.

• Address of Recipient: 818 S. Flores St., San Antonio, TX 78204

• Project Location: 1011 S Brazos St, San Antonio, TX 78207

• Amount Requested: $3 million

• Disclosure Form

Bergstrom Spur Urban Trail Central Segment

Project Recipient: City of Austin

The Bergstrom Spur is a 6.5-mile abandoned rail corridor in South Austin that the Urban Trails program envisions transforming from a dilapidated brownfield into Austin’s first rail-to-trail. The project was split into three segments to expedite delivery since each segment has unique real estate, partnership, and environmental challenges. This request is for the Bergstrom Spur Central segment of the trail which is 1.85 miles long and will connect people to the businesses and housing in and around the St. Elmo district and The Yard, underneath I-35, and to Austin Resource Recovery, among other destinations.

• Address of Recipient: 301 West Second Street, Austin, TX 78701

• Project Location: 3745 Todd Ln, Austin, TX 78744

• Amount Requested: $5 million

• Disclosure Form

Eastern Travis County Water Main Improvements Project

Project Recipient: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources

Travis County is interested in installing improved water service in certain areas of Eastern Travis County. Travis County believes that certain of their residents would benefit from improved water service based on customer surveys. The initial project includes the installation of a new eight-inch water main in Farm to Market Road 812 to Doyle Road. The project will include appropriate fire hydrants, valves, and reconnection of water services to individual homes and businesses.

• Address of Recipient: 700 Lavaca Street, 5th Floor, Austin, TX 78701

• Project Location: Farm to Market Road 812 to Doyle Road, Travis County

• Amount Requested: $5.35 million

• Disclosure Form

Economic Development of Downtown San Antonio: Rehabilitation of Historic Structure for Small Business Activation at Hemisfair

Project Recipient: Hemisfair

This highly visible project calls for the restoration of the historic RCA Pavilion to generate economic development in downtown San Antonio. The scope of work includes external stabilization–roof replacement, brick pointing, and weather proofing. The interior requires complete reconstruction, including plumbing, electrical, and structural work. Once complete, the Pavilion will be leased to a small business at a sales-based percentage rate.

• Address of Recipient: PO Box 1262, San Antonio, Texas 78295

• Project Location: 434 S Alamo Street, San Antonio, Texas 78210

• Amount Requested: $1,885,450

• Disclosure Form

Esperanza Community Land Trust

Project Recipient: Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

The Esperanza Community Land Trust is designed to preserve existing extremely low-income housing in San Antonio’s historic Westside and to protect Westside residents at risk of displacement. The Trust will acquire and renovate several older Westside homes which will be deeded to the Trust with the restriction that the house may only be rented or sold to persons whose household income is at or below 30% of the HUD Area Median Income for the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Area, for a rent which complies with the current TDHCA/HUD Project Income and Rent Tool, using the 20% and 30% AMI levels. 

In cooperation with the Historic Westside Residents Association, the Trust will reach out to residents whose Westside houses are at risk of demolition and work to prevent demolition of the house so that owners can remain in their homes. The Trust and its community allies will develop a process through which homeowners can join with the Trust to ensure that the house will be permanently affordable to them or, if they choose to vacate the home, to other low-income Westsiders. Finally, the Trust, in partnership with the Historic Westside Residents' Association and Domesticas Unidos San Antonio, will undertake an extensive outreach and education campaign, designed to inform residents about the benefits of participation in the Community Land Trust.

• Address of Recipient: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212

• Project Location: 816 S. Colorado, San Antonio, TX 78207

• Amount Requested: $2.25 million

• Disclosure Form

Gregg Manor Water Pump Station Expansion

Project Recipient: City of Manor

The Gregg Manor Road Water Booster Pump Station and Storage expansion project will be used to add an additional phase to the Gregg Manor Booster Station and Storage Tank project that has been designed. The first phase is tentatively scheduled to begin construction in early Summer 2023. The project will be used to expand pump capacity and add additional water storage in the western portion of Manor. The expansion will help Manor be able to maintain more constant water pressure at the City's intake point from EPCOR. The project will also provide additional water storage for the City to meet TCEQ requirements as Manor continues to grow.

• Address of Recipient: 105 E. Eggleston St., Manor, TX 78653

• Project Location: Near 12719 Gregg Manor Rd, Manor, TX 78653

• Amount Requested: $3.25 million

• Disclosure Form

Huston-Tillotson Campus Community Revitalization for Community Growth & Impact

Project Recipient: Huston-Tillotson University

Recently, the Austin City Council passed a resolution to support Huston-Tillotson University to explore partnerships to develop more affordable university-owned housing options for students in need. Huston-Tillotson University is looking to support our students by providing on-campus housing and multi-purpose community space which creates stronger connectivity for high academic performance and student engagement. Huston-Tillotson University is proud to propose an innovative and exciting project to renovate its two residence halls and renovate and retrofit our 1960s student union into a more contemporary campus community space, inviting Austin to build upon our rich history as a cultural destination and anchor institution. These projects will create great interest in the city's oldest school of higher learning and provide a much-needed upgrade to our campus infrastructure.

• Address of Recipient: 900 Chicon Street, Austin, TX 78702

• Project Location: 900 Chicon Street, Austin, TX 78702

• Amount Requested: $3 million

• Disclosure Form

John Treviño Jr. Metro Park at Morrison Ranch Development

Project Recipient: City of Austin

The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department will use the requested funding to complete the first phase of development of John Treviño Jr. Metro Park at Morrison Ranch as elaborated in the community-driven vision plan. The project will focus on installing roadway entry, trailhead parking, picnicking facilities, a trail network, utility service, and ecological restoration and improvements. The project will allow the public to access and enjoy the natural beauty of the 330-acre park in east Austin and lay the groundwork for future development.

• Address of Recipient: 301 W. Second Street, Austin TX 78701

• Project Location: 9501 FM 969, Austin, TX 78724

• Amount Requested: $3 million

• Disclosure Form

Kyle Reclaimed Water Master Plan

Project Recipient: City of Kyle

The Reclaimed Water Master Plan seeks to ensure that the City of Kyle can utilize reclaimed water for public purposes. Specifically, the project will install additional water pumps at the Wastewater Treatment Plan, as well as install a ground storage tank and reclaimed waterlines. Further, the Reclaimed Water Master Plan will extend an existing waterline. Ultimately, this project will connect reclaimed water from the Wastewater Treatment Plant and leverage the existing and proposed network to provide reclaimed water to subdivisions, as well as industrial uses.

• Address of Recipient: 100 W. Center Street, Kyle, TX 78640

• Project Location: 100 W. Center Street, Kyle, TX 78640 (community-wide)

• Amount Requested: $3.39 million 

• Disclosure Form

Longhorn Dam Multimodal Improvements

Project Recipient: City of Austin

This project will design and construct a “wishbone” shaped bicycle and pedestrian bridge that will connect to the existing Butler Hike and Bike Trail at three points: Longhorn Shores, Holly Shores, and the unnamed peninsula near Holly Shores. When complete, the bridge will span just under a half-mile and create a north-to-south, dedicated bicycle and pedestrian connection the east side of Lady Bird Lake.

• Address of Recipient: 301 W. Second Street, Austin TX 78701

• Project Location: South Pleasant Valley Road (at Longhorn Dam Bridge over Lady Bird Lake) Austin, TX 78741

• Amount Requested: $5 million  

• Disclosure Form

Meadows Center for Water and the Environment Texas Coast Project

Project Recipient: Texas State University

An unprecedented increase in disease-causing bacteria, exacerbating a well-documented* problem with fecal bacterial contamination along the Texas Coast is expected to continue. It will impact public health in coastal communities with some of the most highly socio-economically vulnerable populations in the state. The project develops an environmental forensics approach to understanding and predicting fecal bacterial contamination as a tool for coastal management. The approach involves two new kinds of water quality data and development of faster approaches to data acquisition and analysis. The new data types are based on recent innovations creating powerful, rapid, and accurate analytical techniques to characterize water. One of the techniques has been proven effective in tracking sanitary wastewater in storm drain outfalls and receiving waters and will be applied for this purpose. The new techniques will be performed on a high-throughput/rapid basis (both for water quality analysis and with a pipeline to automated data analysis), which is vital for feasible community science use in coastal management. Resulting data will be analyzed using an environmental forensics approach, including use of emerging techniques in artificial intelligence. Resultant computer applications will be provided as a tool for use by community scientists. The Texas coast environment is ideal for this project, because it is comparatively understudied with respect to the proposed approach and in terms of community need and benefit. The study areas will target Texas bays and estuaries with historically high levels of bacteria (beaches in Harris, Matagorda, and Nueces Counties), which are also areas with vulnerable communities.

• Address of Recipient: Texas State University, Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, 601 University Drive San Marcos, TX 78666

• Project Location: Texas State University, Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, 601 University Drive San Marcos, TX 78666

• Amount Requested: $500,000

• Disclosure Form

San Antonio College Empowerment Center for Community and Veteran Outreach

Project Recipient: San Antonio College - Alamo Colleges District

San Antonio College seeks to expand the footprint of the San Antonio College Empowerment Center in order to provide one-stop comprehensive services and vital resources to meet the needs of at-risk, non-traditional adult learners who often have limited access to education. Utilizing a one-stop service approach, the San Antonio College Empowerment Center (formerly known as the Women’s Center), delivers an award-winning comprehensive system of services including quality academic advisement, scholarship assistance to help low-income students stay in school once they enroll and a General Educational Development (GED) program that provides test preparation and vouchers. Services are designed to address the barriers that prevent many at-risk non-traditional populations from reaching their educational goals and to obtain the skills needed to be competitive in today’s job market.

A new, expanded facility will allow for all programs and services to be offered within the confines of the same building while allowing for the expansion of services for those lacking a high school credential to enroll in college. As the population of non-traditional, at-risk populations continue to grow, it will also allow for the possibility of additional programs and services to assist these students in the future.

• Address of Recipient: 1819 N. Main Ave. San Antonio, TX 78212

• Project Location: 703 Howard St., San Antonio, TX 78212

• Amount Requested: $1 million

• Disclosure Form

San Antonio International Airport New Parking Structure & Ground Transportation Center

Project Recipient: City of San Antonio

The parking structure intends to be more than a typical parking garage to provide a high-level experience for customers using it. The parking structure will include an at-grade exit plaza, a commercial vehicle pickup area on the second level, and a premium public parking product on the additional elevated levels. The structure is anticipated to connect with a pedestrian bridge, over the Terminal Roadway, that connects passengers directly to the New Terminal.

• Address of Recipient: 111 Plaza De Armas, San Antonio, TX 78205

• Project Location: 9800 Airport Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78216

• Amount Requested: $3 million

• Disclosure Form

San Marcos Shared Use Pathway Connection Project

Project Recipient: City of San Marcos

The San Marcos Shared Use Pathway Connection project will fill a gap that exists between the recently completed shared use pathway project along the San Marcos River to the east side of San Marcos under Interstate 35 and its access roads. During the recent City’s Comprehensive Plan engagement process the community communicated a desire for all areas of San Marcos to meet the daily needs of nearby residents and employees. San Marcos residents expressed the need for access to their everyday essentials as well as amenities such as parks, shops, restaurants, trails, and community spaces near where they live. Most notably, people from all over San Marcos identified the need to provide better access to goods and services for those living and working on the east side of IH-35.

• Address of Recipient: 630 E Hopkins St, San Marcos, TX 78666

• Project Location: 630 E Hopkins Street, San Marcos, TX 78666

• Amount Requested: $986,346

• Disclosure Form

Westside Homestead Preservation Center

Project Recipient: Mexican American Unity Council

The Westside Homestead Preservation Center will serve as a one-stop for vulnerable, often elderly, homeowners in the Westside, where they can also receive assistance with identifying the approproiate programs and resources to meet their needs, enrolling for homestead exemptions, public assistance programs, financial counseling, and assistance negotiating payment plans with the tax assessor-collector, and accessing multiple City/County relevant departments, partner organizations, and homestead preservation navigators all in one place, at the Mexican American Unity Council on W. Commerce.

• Address of Recipient: 2300 W. Commerce St #200, San Antonio, TX 78207

• Project Location: 2300 W. Commerce St #200, San Antonio, TX 78207

• Amount Requested: $1.03 million

• Disclosure Form