Hondo working to improve housing availability

By Rosanne Fohn

Anvil Herald Reporter

The City of Hondo continues to pursue more housing to help local businesses grow. 

In an interview on Friday,  Hondo City Manager John Naron said that there often aren’t enough residents to support some local businesses. He said the answer is adding more housing to support new employers, such as Boise Cascade. 

Sean Patty, executive director of the Hondo Economic Development Corporation, also has said that more housing is the key to Hondo’s growth. A significant percentage of employees from other, long-time, Hondo businesses commute to work from other zip codes and would benefit from more housing, which would also help support Hondo ISD growth, he said.

With this in mind, Naron said the city continues to work with developers to bring in more housing. Here is the status of the current projects.

Bids for airport property 

This month, city will open bids for a 192-acre property it has for sale near the South Texas Regional Airport. The land is east of Castro Avenue, just north of Spaatz Road and the city soccer fields. The property was put out for bids in November 2025 and the bids were due Tuesday. The property is zoned “planned development,” which could include commercial, residential or mixed use, Naron said. “Council can choose to accept or deny anything,” he added.

D.R. Horton

Negotiations with home builder D.R. Horton continue on a 62-acre airport property east of the Medina County Sheriff’s Office that is bisected by Harper Avenue/8th Street.  

Also part of the former Hondo Airbase property, this land comes with Federal Aviation Administration deed restrictions. The developer has balked at some of the restrictions, although Friday Horton was still interested in negotiating for the property. 

Director of Aviation Ryan Elder said that the height of buildings near the airport is the main concern, but that the noise of airplanes taking off and landing may be another. Horton attorneys are preparing a proposal for consideration that Elder will take to the FAA to see if agreements can be reached to move forward with the land purchase.

Hondo Creek Farms

Hondo Creek Farms has approached the city again with a plan to build 185 homes on lots ranging from one and a half to five acres, Naron said. The 201-acre development was rejected by city council a few years ago due to the number of homes proposed and the developer’s waste water plan. 

Naron said the current plan calls for installing septic tanks for each home rather than routing treated sewage into a nearby creek, which was a major sticking point for neighbors and residents downstream. In addition, the developer has asked the city to supply water, which Naron said is being investigated. 

   “We may or may not be able to serve them,” he said. After the city engineer vets the developer’s water plans, Naron said, “It would have to go to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission and then to the city council for approval.”

Bakke Development Corp.

“Bakke Development is at a full stop,” Naron said. The developer owns about 75 acres south of Walmart and had been considering a housing development there. Years ago, Bakke bought the land where Walmart and a retail center are located and facilitated those developments.  

Gear Construction

Gear Construction, a local development company owned by Kevin Gear II, is building 10 houses on about three acres in the Green Meadows Subdivision, located on 34th Street west of Avenue G. These are larger homes on larger lots. Gear’s investment group also owns three other parcels in the same general area of town ranging from one-fourth to a third of an acre.

“Green Meadows Unit Four (the current development) is a planned residential development that will extend the City of Hondo southward and includes approximately 10 lots. The project represents our continued local investment, with future interest in additional development further south once this phase is complete,” Gear said. He is seeking annexation by the city. Gear said he supports responsible growth and long-term community development.

Brighter Door

Another local home- builder/remodeler is  Jona-than Peterson of Brighter Door. In 2025, Brighter Door purchased property on the north outskirts of Hondo to develop seven houses. One home already on the property. His company specializes in infill housing and he has already built or remodeled about 20 houses in recent years, he said. 

“We build affordable houses that are stick built (traditional homes constructed on a foundation) and we build them as we sell them. They are three-bedroom, two-bath homes that will last and fit in with the traditional Hondo market,” he said.  

HOME project

Last week, the city gave the keys to three homeowners who qualified for new houses under the HOME Investment Partnership Program. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered for the state by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the program expands the supply of decent, safe, affordable housing for those who apply and qualify. (See the story in this week’s edition of the Hondo Anvil Herald.)