Since 1976, Affordable Homes of South Texas, Inc. has quietly transformed housing opportunities across the Rio Grande Valley. What began as a modest effort to help local families escape substandard housing has grown into one of the region’s largest community housing organizations.
For almost 30 years, the organization was led by Robert “Bobby” Calvillo, whose dedication to helping hardworking Valley families achieve affordable homeownership shaped AHSTI’s mission. “He believed deeply that every hardworking family deserves a place to call home,” said current CEO Myra Martinez. “He built an organization capable of delivering on that promise year after year.”
After Calvillo passed away, Martinez was promoted to CEO after 14 years of service in a variety of leadership roles. She now leads AHSTI with the values and humanity he embedded in the organization. She attributes not only the organization’s success to him but also her own professional growth. “My role isn’t to replace his legacy,” she said. “My role is to carry it forward with purpose and ganas, and to continue the work he dedicated his life to.”
While the loss of his leadership hit AHSTI hard, Martinez said it was Calvillo’s commitment to every aspect of the organization that has allowed it to continue to grow and thrive. “He built strong systems, empowered leaders, and cultivated a mission-driven culture,” she said. “He was the heart of this organization.”
It isn’t just the people of South Texas or AHSTI who remember his contributions. In November, the Housing Assistance Council recognized his decades of service with the 2025 Rural Service Award.
Today, AHSTI operates as a full-service, nonprofit housing provider. It develops land, builds and rehabs homes, extends mortgage financing, offers homebuyer education and counseling, and services loans — all under one roof.
One of the elements that sets AHSTI apart is its dedication to building homes with energy-efficient features. In addition to using high-performance construction standards that begin with a well-sealed structure and enhanced insulation, the organization installs high-efficiency HVAC systems designed to optimize each individual home’s layout.
In its Jaguar Heights development, now under construction in Edinburg, AHSTI has implemented even higher standards by including Indoor airPLUS certification in each home. The added features will improve indoor air quality in addition to lowering monthly utility costs. Martinez considers these upgrades essential. “Every efficiency feature is intentional. Families deserve a home that’s not only affordable to purchase but affordable to live in year after year.”
Over the decades, the organization has helped thousands of families who might otherwise never have qualified for conventional financing achieve safe, affordable, and energy-efficient homeownership. The result is greater stability, dignity, and a potential path to generational wealth.
Looking ahead, AHSTI expects to build 80 new homes in 2026, a milestone year that marks the organization’s 50th anniversary. Martinez calls the expansion both a celebration of AHSTI’s five decades of impact and a reflection of its ongoing commitment to meeting growing demand in the Valley.
AHSTI’s holistic, mission-driven model sets it apart. The group does more than build houses — it builds opportunity. Through homebuyer education, financial coaching, and loan underwriting that considers rent and utility history instead of credit scores, AHSTI helps working families responsibly transition into homeownership.
In recent years, the organization has taken further steps toward sustainability and long-term growth. To reduce reliance on grants and outside funding, AHSTI has diversified through social-enterprise ventures, launching subsidiary businesses such as a real estate agency and other related operations that generate mission-driven revenue to support its housing programs.
As affordable housing remains a pressing challenge for low- to moderate-income families in the Valley, AHSTI stands as a cornerstone of hope and opportunity. Its work shows how nonprofit housing solutions grounded in community values and long-term commitment can make homeownership not just possible but sustainable.
“What sets AHSTI apart is that we don’t just build homes,” Martinez said. “We build opportunity.” If one were to evaluate the organization’s success based solely on what it has already accomplished, there is no doubt that it is one of the most important community builders in the Rio Grande Valley. Based on their plans for the future, it is clear that AHSTI will continue contributing to the region for decades to come.
