SAHA Receives National Recognition The San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) was praised for outstanding achievement in new project design by the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), which honored SAHA with five national Awards of Merit for Housing and Community Development.
The awards were presented during NAHRO’s summer conference July 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn.
“SAHA is committed to providing quality, affordable housing to the citizens of San Antonio and we’re pleased these efforts were recognized at a national level,” said Alfred Valenzuela, SAHA interim president and CEO.
The awards were received for the following SAHA properties:
Artisan at Mission Creek – A unique combination of financing and local partnering resulted in high quality, affordable family living just minutes from downtown San Antonio. Features include a clubhouse with an adult social services area, a kids’ only room, fitness center, computer learning lab and a kitchen.
Costa Valencia – This far west side property has the old charm of a villa design (multi-color exteriors and iron railed balconies) with amenities like a pool and gated parking for affordable apartment living. Nestled on 12 landscaped acres, Costa Valencia is near many commercial and retail centers.
Midcrowne Senior Pavilion – Midcrowne, in northeast San Antonio, provides seniors with affordable housing and amenities, including a clubhouse with a media/theatre room, fitness studio, library/study, activities room, and a beauty/barber shop.
Rosemont at Highland Park – Located adjacent to Highway 90, this property is providing affordable housing to residents on the east side of San Antonio. Amenities include a clubhouse, pool, playground and computer room.
San Juan Square I – Located near the west sideof San Antonio, San Juan isamixed-income community where market rate, affordable and publichousing units sit alongside one another. Residents enjoy a clubhouse with a communityroom, swimming pool, fitness center, and a business center.
“Not only are we improving our residents lives’ through affordable housing, we’re enhancing their living conditions by providing families with clubhouses and pools. This allows our residents to spend time with each other and socialize with their neighbors,” said SAHA Board Chairman Ramiro Cavazos.
SAHA was also recently honored by the national publication, Affordable Housing Finance, as the fifth largest developer of affordable housing in the nation. It is the only public housing agency listed.
H.R. 6347: HOPE VI Amendment Act of 2008 Congressman Charles Gonzales has cosponsored H.R. 6347: HOPE VI Amendment Act of 2008, to facilitate the use of HOPE VI grant amounts beyond the original deadlines for expenditure (Sept. 26, 2008). This extension applies to certain public housing agencies that have suffered project delays due to natural catastrophes, certain emergencies, or the subprime mortgage crisis. This bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee, where it was introduced June 23. Chairwoman Maxine Waters (CA) and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, ranking member (WV), both expressed support for H.R. 6347, as did the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at that session.
The San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) needs your support of this bill and the sponsorship of similar legislation in the Senate. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis and its affect on the capital markets, we may be unable to timely finance our anticipated HOPE VI projects. This bill will allow SAHA the flexibility to meet revised deadlines for exhaustion of HOPE VI funds in an efficient manner without compromising the integrity of revitalization projects currently underway. This bill is crucial to the Victoria Commons revitalization project located in downtown San Antonio, which has gained the support of the surrounding neighborhood and the City of San Antonio.
We ask that you support H.R. 6347 and that you encourage your fellow legislators to contact our Congressional and Senatorial delegation to move this bill through full committee markup and that your members go on record in support of the Senate version of H.R. 6347. SAHA also asks that our Senatorial delegation work together with their counterparts to draft the Senate version of the bill for parallel action.
SAHA Announces New Customer Service Department In an effort to further enhance customer service, the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) has created a new department to expedite the resolution of client inquiries and concerns.
This new department, called the Customer Care Department, was created at the urging of SAHA Board Chairman Ramiro Cavazos and his fellow commissioners.
“Throughout my career, I have learned that it’s important to address issues early and more directly in the process so that problems get resolved before becoming worse or having to go to a board or president,” said Cavazos.
The department, headed by SAHA Director Lori Mendez, is focused on providing resolutions and answers to program participants who have exhausted other standard agency avenues. Other duties of the department include:
• Advocating for SAHA program participants to trouble-shoot any resident concerns.
• Serving as a customer ombudsman between other departments.
• Developing new procedures to more quickly and efficiently improve citizen satisfaction.
• Managing frontline customer service issues and initiatives.
• Developing and managing client feedback services.
• Successful follow up with residents to ensure issues are resolved.
“SAHA should be an organization that’s focused on helping people. The creation of this department is a long needed step and I’m looking forward to its success,” Cavazos said.
“The bottom line is that SAHA exists to provide affordable, quality housing to San Antonio residents and we’re committed to ensuring they receive excellent customer service,” said Alfred Valenzuela, interim CEO/president of SAHA.
Mendez, a former SAHA program participant herself, is uniquely qualified to lead the customer care department. She has held numerous positions at SAHA over the last 27 years, including public housing manager, director of self-sufficiency initiatives, deputy vice president of public housing, vice president for community initiatives, and vice president of resource development.
SAHA customer_care@saha.org
SAHA program participants can reach the Customer Care Department by calling (210) 477-6777, e-mailing org or visiting the central office at 818 S. Flores St. As always, Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison Monica Quiroga is available to answer inquiries from elected offices. She may be reached atMonica_Quiroga@saha.org or via telephone at (210) 477-6131
Neighborhood Association Meetings We have been incredibly busy attending meetings of our Neighborhood and Homeowners Associations in various districts throughout the City. In the last few months, SAHA has had a representative at meetings with neighborhood representatives in City Council Districts 1 2, 7, and 9; additionally, we have come on-site to many of your offices and our properties to visit with your constituents at locations convenient to our elected officials.
These forums give your constituents an opportunity to discuss SAHA and HUD regulations, community initiatives, concentration of subsidized/ public/ affordable housing in their neighborhoods, and tools available to SAHA, your offices, and your constituents to reinforce positive working relationships between all stakeholders. Contact Intergovernmental Affairs at 477-6131 for more information.
San Antonio Housing Authority
Department of Corporate Relations
Monica L. Quiroga
Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison
(210) 477-6131 office
(210) 477-6127 fax
(210) 336-6766 cell
Monica_Quiroga@saha.org
San Juan Square I
Congressman Charles Gonzales has cosponsored H.R. 6347: HOPE VI Amendment Act of 2008, to facilitate the use of HOPE VI grant amounts beyond the original deadlines for expenditure (Sept. 26, 2008). This extension applies to certain public housing agencies that have suffered project delays due to natural catastrophes, certain emergencies, or the subprime mortgage crisis. This bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee, where it was introduced June 23. Chairwoman Maxine Waters (CA) and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, ranking member (WV), both expressed support for H.R. 6347, as did the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at that session. 
In an effort to further enhance customer service, the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) has created a new department to expedite the resolution of client inquiries and concerns. 
We have been incredibly busy attending meetings of our Neighborhood and Homeowners Associations in various districts throughout the City. In the last few months, SAHA has had a representative at meetings with neighborhood representatives in City Council Districts 1 2, 7, and 9; additionally, we have come on-site to many of your offices and our properties to visit with your constituents at locations convenient to our elected officials.