The historic Robert E. Lee apartments are headed for a major renovation, but it will need to be empty for construction.

San Antonio Housing Trust leaders have outlined a plan to make the downtown building more accessible, add a second elevator and bring education programs and new amenities. Construction could take 18 months to complete, so the Housing Trust plans to help rehouse residents while it remakes the apartments.

The $22 million project was presented to San Antonio city council members on April 1. City officials will consider forgiving a 30-year-old $1.7 million federal loan and awarding another $4.5 million loan to support the housing project.

City Council is scheduled to vote on it on April 16.

The 72-unit apartment building is in the heart of downtown at 111 W. Travis St., just a few blocks west of the River Walk. It was built as a 200-room hotel in 1922 and its well known neon signs on its roof were added in 1938.

The hotel was shut down in the 1970s, but the city facilitated a $1.7 million federal loan in 1995 to help turn the building into affordable housing. It currently houses San Antonio residents who make less than 60% of the area median income (AMI), around $40,620 for a one-person household and $57,960 for a family of four. 

The Housing Trust bought the building in 2025 for $3.27 million amid interest from downtown developer Weston Urban, which owns the nearby luxury apartment complex 300 Main. A studio there starts at $1,500 per month, while affordable monthly rents for a person making 60% of AMI are around $1,000.

Now that the nonprofit is getting ready for another round of substantial changes to the building, it could get some help from the City of San Antonio. 

The director of the city’s Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, Veronica Garcia, presented a request for affordable housing funds at a city council meeting earlier this month.

Garcia recommended that city officials approve a $4.5 million loan from the affordable housing bond and forgive the $1.7 million loan from 1995. The total project could cost up to $22 million and would result in 63 one- and two-bedroom apartments. 

Thirteen units would be for families that make less than 30% of the area median income, around $20,300 annually for a one-person household and $29,000 for a four-person household, and 50 would be for families under the 60% AMI threshold.

Services like food, financial literacy and health programs and amenities like a fitness center and business center with free Wi-Fi would be added. Units would be renovated to better accommodate residents with disabilities.

Several city council members endorsed the effort, but will make a final decision later this month.

“I am so proud of 111 West Travis,” said Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who represents the district the apartments are in. “It was an opportunity for that building to have gone to the market and potentially completely rehabbed to be full market rate housing.”

Fire escapes and the west and east wings of the Hotel Robert E. Lee apartment building tower above the entrance and sidewalk below on West Travis Street on April 2, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report

Rehousing effort takes shape

Pedro Alanis, the Housing Trust’s executive director, said all residents will need to move out. The nonprofit is contracting with Franklin Property Management to oversee the rehousing process. Alanis said the new property managers are helping residents tour apartments in and outside the Housing Trust’s portfolio.

The nonprofit will also help residents with deposits, application fees and moving expenses, Alanis added.

The renovations could take more than a year. Alanis said the timeline is still rough because the Housing Trust is seeking tax credits for low-income housing and historic buildings, but the project could be done at the end of 2028.

Current residents will have an opportunity to then move back in. Alanis said they will be notified 90 days before construction ends and get tours of the rehabilitated Robert E. Lee apartments.

“I anticipate some will love their new locations and wish to stay,” Alanis said. “This is, of course, their choice. But again, we will be paying for deposits, application fees and moving expenses related to their move back.”

Ruben Valdez, who has lived at the apartments for two years, said he would support the plan as long as the Housing Trust follows through on its promises.

“They said that we could come back. Hopefully they’ll help us out,” he said. “That’s their word, hopefully they do it.”

Alanis said the renovation is about serving those residents.

“At the end of the day, it is about providing residents with options and support. They understand the need to temporarily relocate due to the extent of the renovation, and we have had engagements with the residents to discuss their vision for the property,” he said. “After all, we are doing this to give them the dignity of living at a community they will love for years to come.”

Other housing projects

City council members are considering a half dozen affordable housing and homeownership projects, including the Robert E. Lee apartments, through the 2022 Affordable Housing Bond. The six projects would use $8.5 million in federal funding and $10 million in city bond funds.

The projects were selected by a committee of city staff and local experts who evaluated them based on affordability, readiness, developers’ experience, funds requested and other factors. The five other projects besides the Robert E. Lee apartments are:

  • Judy at Vida, 68 studio, one- and two-bedroom units near Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
  • Aurora MLK, 288 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units on the East Side.
  • Heritage Estates at Medina, 86 one- and two-bedroom units on the West Side
  • Rancho Verano, 47 new $155,000 homes on the South Side
  • Casitas Affordable Homes, four new $130,000 homes on the West Side