San Antonio Business Journal had a conversation with SouthStar Senior Vice President of community development Gretchen Howell to discuss progress and future plans at VIDA San Antonio.
via San Antonio Business Journal: Vida San Antonio, a master-planned community on the South Side, is ahead of schedule on lot deliveries — and planning to deliver more.
SouthStar Communities, the New Braunfels developer behind the project, has already sold the 500 lots its completed. Now, it plans to turn dirt on 300 more lots by the end of next year. At that point, SouthStar will have delivered nearly half of the 1,700 single-family lots it planned for Vida.
Nearly 200 homes have been purchased in the community as well, and the developer is pushing for a similar clip this year.
“What we’re seeing is we’re delivering something that resonates so well with the population that’s here and providing them with choices that weren’t previously available,” said SouthStar Senior Vice President of community development Gretchen Howell, who is spearheading the development of Vida.
The project caters heavily to San Antonio residents who have grown up on the South Side and wish to remain there said JoJo King, a sales representative with Perry Homes. Perry is one of three single-family homebuilders currently active at Vida.
“I would say that 90% of our buyers come from Harlandale, McCollum, South San, East Central. And we get some military transplants,” King said.
She said that the area’s affordability is attractive to residents. Developers and homebuilders have previously told the Business Journal that the South Side has been an affordable option for development as land in more highly amenitized sections of the city has become prohibitively expensive.
Perry acquired 32 lots in Vida’s first phase on the northwest quadrant of the development and just acquired another 24 in the same area. It acquired 22 lots in the second phase, located dead center in the development.
“We have about 15 Perry Home residents,” King said, and they’re on pace to sell out by the end of the year.
The remaining 2,300 residential units set to be delivered at Vida will be part of multifamily developments at the property. These include Los Arcos, a 324-unit mixed-income apartment project with Opportunity Home San Antonio, a municipally-owned developer of affordable housing, set to deliver next year. Aspire, another multifamily development, will include 288 garden style apartments across from Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s campus. Adjacent to Aspire, plans for another multifamily project spanning 8 acres are currently underway that will include about 180 units.
Howell also confirmed that SouthStar is considering a single-family rental component to Vida.
“It’s an important category, and we’re watching it. We’ve spoken to a lot of people and I think it may have a place here. We want to be vary careful about who operates it and how that works. Everything has to fit into the mix so that it all works together,” Howell said.
She admitted that some potential homebuyers might be reluctant about living in a community that includes renters, but said that the community is intended to promote inclusivity.
“Our goal is to provide a place to show that having a variety of housing and a variety of population makes a better community, and that’s really what Vida expresses,” Howell said.
Sitterle Homes, a local builder, is on pace to complete townhomes at Vida as well. The development also includes commercial components under various stages of completion that will serve the area.