SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio City Council unanimously approved funding Thursday to provide much needed air conditioning in some of the oldest public housing units in the country.
- Approval funds the purchase and installation
- More than 2,500 units
- Elderly and disabled will be prioritized
The approval funds the purchase and installation of air conditioners in more than 2,500 public housing units on San Antonio Housing Authority properties that don’t have them.
“Two-thousand, five-hundred families in our city, including children and the elderly, have lived through scorching summers without air conditioning for generations because their housing is old - that is going to change,” District 5 City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales said.
READ MORE | Committee Votes to Install Needed AC in Public Housing Units
Thursday’s vote was to allocate $500,000 in funds that will be leveraged with private and nonprofit funding to purchase and install air conditioning units at 20 SAHA facilities. The city’s funds will be matched by SAHA in the same amount of $500,000.
SAHA will work on a short deadline in order to install the air conditioners before the summer. Purchasing will begin in March and April, with installation finished by the summer months.
According to San Antonio Housing Authority CEO David Nisivoccia, one-third of the residents of the public housing units that need air conditioning are elderly and disabled. Those units will be prioritized, followed by families with children.
“This is an excellent example of equity and climate adaptation improving the lives of 2,500 of our most vulnerable residents,” District 7 City Councilwoman Ana Sandoval said. “Thank you, Councilwoman Gonzales, for your leadership on this initiative.”