Over the span of a few weeks in October 2015, Houstonians were horrified by news reporting of the horrendous condition of the Crestmont Village Apartments.
From reports of leaking sewage, to loss of power due to non-payment by the
landlord, the dire situation at that apartment complex displayed why the City
of Houston needs to act urgently to begin addressing the affordable housing
challenge its residents face. The apartment story is an example of
well-intentioned plans gone awry. An out-of-town developer purchased an aging
apartment complex during the economic downturn, with
intentions of completing some minor upgrades and turning it into a cashflow positive property.
The repairs never materialized, and within a short period of time, the complex
spiraled into significant disrepair, leaving behind a declining property.
The
proliferation of substandard apartment complexes is not an uncommon phenomenon,
as various parts of Houston are littered with them. This has been brought about
in part by the significant number of apartments developed during the economic
boom of the 1970’s outliving their usable lives. As the economy contracted
during the 1980’s, landlord’s rushed to fill their apartments with any readily available tenants, often paying less attention to management and maintenance, while
surrounding neighborhoods fell into decline as homeowners fled to the suburbs.
In the
case of Crestmont Village, we have a community that has undergone significant
decline over the last three decades, with schools that have fallen behind, and no significant public or private investment made in over twenty years; the current reconstruction of
Sterling High School being one of the few exceptions. Similar stories ring true for many communities throughout the Houston area, where places that were once vibrant
have been left with boarded-up homes, overgrown lots, declining infrastructure,
and substandard housing structures as their housing stock.
The City
can and must act to redress this situation by developing an affordable housing
plan, as part of a broader community reinvestment effort, towards creating what former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker described as a seamless city.
Houston City Council passed a general plan for the City in 2015. Alongside the plan
should be a comprehensive reinvestment strategy, where the City utilizes public
dollars to invest in workforce housing, elimination of blight, and improvements to public infrastructure and amenities i.e. parks, sidewalks, and drainage. The plan should
establish a 10-year goal of developing 100,000 new affordable workforce multifamily housing,
and construction of 65,000 single-family housing units for working families within the City’s urban
core.
These
goals can be accomplished by leveraging local and federal housing dollars, repositioning public-owned land for development, and leveraging private funds in partnership with private builders and developers to
accelerate the construction of new housing units. The City can further tap into
“homegrown” investment dollars by partnering with local banks in meeting their Community
Reinvestment Act obligations, and by working with the City’s Police, Municipal, Fire, and METRO
pension funds to encourage reinvestment in the Houston community. The City, furthermore, should offer tax abatement for workforce housing development, invest in building infrastructure in areas undergoing
significant revitalization, provide incentives for tearing down dilapidated
structures, and lower the barrier of entry by providing fast-track permitting
for workforce housing developments. These steps taken in concert will enable the
City provide quality housing for low-to-moderate income families, expand the City's property tax base, and return our neighborhoods to the vibrant
livable communities they deserve to be.
Laolu Davies-Yemitan is a real estate broker/developer who
specializes in housing, multifamily development, and urban-suburban
revitalization. He editorializes on issues related to real estate, policy, and workforce housing. LaoluD.blogspot.com; Twitter: @laoludavies
