SAN ANTONIO-Former US Housing and Urban Development SecretaryHenry Cisneros, now chairman of American CityVista, and Kaufman& Broad Home Corp. envision 125 acres in San Antonio as thegateway for bridging the Digital Divide in Texas whilehistory-making negotiations are under way for other high-techprojects in Denver, Las Vegas, Houston and Los Angeles.

“If we can breach the Digital Divide in homes that areaffordable that will be a key factor” in narrowing the gap betweenAmerica's have-nots and haves, Cisneros tells GlobeSt.com. Only the600-home development in south San Antonio has been sealed. Talkshave begun for a high-tech development of up to 12,000 smartdwellings–single-family and multifamily–at the former StapletonAirport, which is a go for an American CityVista mid-market housingproject but not necessarily smart-home savvy units. “It's too earlyto tell if it's going to be the same in Colorado,” says Cisneros.America CityVista also is searching for land and partnerships tobring identical developments to economically challenged sections ofthe other three markets, Cisneros has disclosed. “The plancertainly is to build more areas than San Antonio,” saysCisneros.

At the heart of the innovative Lago Vista undertaking are keypartnerships with Gateway Computers, Southwestern BellCommunications, Time Warner Inc. and Univision. SBC will layhigh-quality voice and data lines offering high-speed DSL andtraditional phone service. Through the other partnerships, TimeWarner will provide cable hookups; Univision will deliver InternetService; and Gateway will round out the project with PC packagesvalued at $1,000 each. Cisneros says the deal will only add $25 permonth to mortgages for Lago Vista homebuyers, who must make athree-year commitment for the high-tech service.