San Antonio's city planners are setting their sights on an East Side revitalization, starting with the acquisition of a hefty spread of land aimed at serving the area's senior citizens. The city is shelling out $745,000 for a 12-acre parcel from the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), which snagged the same stretch decades ago for a fraction of the price. The plot is nestled on Lord Road, well-positioned for a proposed senior center to uplift a neighborhood that has long borne the brunt of underinvestment.
SAISD conveyed the land off of Lord Road back to the city—a move that SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino described as a shot in the arm for community uplift. "This land was not identified for use as a school site," Aquino noted, assuring that although the sale isn’t part of an ongoing "rightsizing" effort, the transaction will result in a community benefit, according to Fox San Antonio.
Current facilities for the more seasoned residents of San Antonio's East Side have hit capacity, with approximately 150 daily visitors vying for space and resources—a squeeze that’s giving city officials a push to expand. The new senior center aims to eclipse the older, cramped location at the District 2 Senior Center in scale and scope, trading parking woes and tight quarters for a full-service hub, stacked with amenities from gardens to potential senior housing. The undersized and under-resourced conditions of the existing center stand as a stark contrast to the more expansive venues in San Antonio’s North Side, an imbalance the city is gearing up to correct.
Assistant City Manager Lori Houston told San Antonio Report that there's no stash of cash currently earmarked for the senior center's design or build-out. Instead, the city's coffers may crack open for the project as part of the 2027 bond program. And with backing from several council and community members for robust affordable housing funding in said bond, the prospect of senior housing sharing space with the senior center seems within reach. Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, a staunch advocate for the project, alluded to a desire not to wait it out until 2027, suggesting that a public-private partnership could fast-track the venture.
"It's about time. We’ve waited for so long," celebrated Eugene Hines, a nonagenarian and former Army nurse, in a mix of expectation and caution, relayed through a grin seamed by 93 years of wisdom. The council and community are now entering a phase of consultation to hash out the particulars residents want to see take shape at the new East Side landmark. Whether timelines currently hanging on the future bond or accelerated by private-sector teamwork, the city council, and community partners are bent on elevating the East Side senior experience.
