WEB EXCLUSIVE: Housing Authority breaks ground on Stone Village project

(Staff photo by Jacob Lopez)
San Benito Public Housing Authority and City of San Benito officials are seen at a groundbreaking ceremony held Thursday for the Stone Village development.

By JACOB LOPEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com

It’s been six years since Hurricane Dolly, but parts of San Benito still haven’t fully recovered.

The Kenneth Lake housing development, for instance, was ultimately lost after the storm caused extensive flooding to the 54-unit development.

Enter the San Benito Public Housing Authority’s new the Stone Village project.

Thursday, the Housing Authority, along with entities involved with making Stone Village a reality, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new housing development, which will be located in the vicinity of McCullough and Line 17 Road in San Benito.

Megamorphosis designed the housing development, and SLS is contracted for the construction.

The project consists of 22 single-story buildings that make up 50 apartments and a community center/office building.

Site improvements such as streets, parking, sidewalks, storm drains, sewers and sanitary water are also proposed for the 7.752 tract of land.

Arnold Padilla, outgoing executive director of the San Benito Public Housing Authority (SBPHA), spoke in front of attendees and recalled the story of when Hurricane Dolly ravaged San Benito in 2008.

The storm took a major toll on a development that was 20 years old at the time.

Padilla told a story of when he and others stayed behind helping people by safely transporting them on a rowboat through the flooded grounds those families once called home. They did this all night, he explained. Finally, when everyone thought it was time to leave, he and the group chose to double-back to ensure that no one, especially small children frightened by the storm, had stayed behind. The group checked every closet and pantry to make sure that nobody was lost.

According to Padilla, $3.7 million in funds for the project came from the federal government to the state of Texas. From there, it was issued to the General Land Office and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council (LRGVDC) received an award and established a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). That’s when the housing authority applied for the funds.

Padilla also mentioned another allocation of funding in the amount of $380,000.

“In total, we’re at about $4 million that are going to be awarded to this project,” Padilla added.

The property, which is on Victoria Street, had already been intended for development by the housing authority.

Ken Jones, executive director & CAO for the LRGVDC, said that Stone Village “ranked as one of the highest and one of the first (grants) that was approved.”

The LRGVDC is the entity that received the initial federal funds and established the NOFA that the Housing Authority applied for.

The application process, according to Padilla, is a long one. “It’s very intensive,” he said. “We submitted an application that was an inch-and-a-half, almost two-inches thick.”

The application includes information as to why the housing authority is eligible for the funds. It was the top-ranked of all the applications submitted.

“The construction period is about 300 days,” said Padilla. However, he noted that this doesn’t necessarily mean it will be 300 days before the first family can move in.

Considering the time spent obtaining permits, it’s roughly a yearlong project not including the two-year period that began with the application process.

“By the time you’re done, it’s a three-year project,” said Padilla.

Padilla recently announced that he will be departing from his position as executive director of the Housing Authority.

“This particular project was one that was deep in my heart as far a wanting to make sure that it was completed — at least getting it to the point of construction,” Padilla said.

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