Celebrating the historical East Side's heritage
Wheatley Courts was a traditional public housing neighborhood built in the late 1940s. In early 2011, the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) was awarded a Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant to revitalize the community. In early 2013 the East Side of San Antonio was named a Promise Zone by President Obama. Together with these funds, SAHA and the City of San Antonio selected developer McCormack Baron Salazar to redevelop the site.
KAI was hired to provide architectural design, engineering and project management for the 10-acre, $29 million Phase 2 portion of the project, now known as East Meadows. KAI along with local consultants designed 220 new mixed-income homes along a major thoroughfare over four blocks. The design is environmentally responsive. It includes Build San Antonio Green Level 2, Enterprise Green Communities and LEED Design criteria. The design and landscaping provide a residential atmosphere that is far from institutional with a management office, pool and county library.
SAHA asked KAI to provide housing that celebrated the heritage of the historical East Side as well as elements of what make San Antonio architecture unique. These design elements were incorporated so that they could be replicated and used to sprinkle in-fill housing throughout the Promise Zone. Each unique building type has a combination of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units in a variety of styles that make the entire project feel as part of the larger fabric of the neighboring communities. There is a mix of Spanish, Colonial, Craftsman and Federalist Styles that emulate the historical character of the surrounding homes. The building types are two and three stories.
The project site is five minutes from Fort Sam Houston and 10 minutes from downtown San Antonio. It is also close to historic Phyllis Wheatley Middle School and St. Phillips College. There is a new community health clinic within walking distance also being designed by KAI.
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Architecture, Interior Design, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Plumbing Engineering, Sustainable Design, Enterprise Green Community, Fire Protection Engineering
“We have today, not only a new name, but a new way of looking at this particular neighborhood."
The Impact
A new vision for the neighborhood.
Few neighborhoods in San Antonio are as distressed as the one surrounding the former Wheatley Courts. Residents and investment abandoned the area while the neighborhood suffered from failing schools, high crime and unemployment rates. The new vision for Wheatley Courts, now renamed East Meadows, made the neighborhood a walkable, sustainable, mixed-income and intergenerational community with multi-family residences reflecting the unique history of the Eastside. As intended, the development houses a diverse mixed-income levels from all walks of life including former Wheatley Court residents, U.S. Service Personnel from Fort Sam Houston and working families from downtown San Antonio’s central business district.
