The Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) recommends Council approval of an Ordinance authorizing a reimbursement payment from the City of Houston (City) to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). HCD will use Uptown TIRZ Series 2021 Affordable Homes funds to reimburse the GLO for the purchase of 12.22 acres of land in the amount of $13,970,540.11.
The land is located north of Stella Link Rd, south of Main St, and east of Willowbend, known as 10301 Stella Link Road (Property). The acquisition and development of the Property was initially supported by the HCD Harvey Single Family Development (HSFD) Program, which was funded by Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery 2017 (CDBG-DR17) funds to develop affordable owner-occupied single-family homes.
The reimbursement to the GLO will allow the City to (i) remove GLO/CDBG-DR17 restrictions from the Property (ii) create its own timeline for the development of the Property, (iii) use local funds to develop the Property, and (iv) create affordable housing for low-to moderate-income workforce homebuyers whose income does not exceed 120% of the Area Median Income. Additionally, following the reimbursement to the GLO, the City will design a Homebuyer Assistance Program (HbAP 2.0) to be utilized throughout the City of Houston.
The Property will be a new construction project of single-family homes in the Willowbend neighborhood. This development will increase Houston’s housing stock by approximately 100- 150 affordable homes depending on design and detention.
This development will be administered by HCD and is aligned with the City’s efforts to invest in creating affordable housing opportunities for low-to moderate-income homebuyers in desirable neighborhoods throughout the city.
The chart below reflects the breakdown of the reimbursement costs:
|
Sources
|
Amount
|
Uses
|
|
Uptown TIRZ Series 2021 Affordable Homes
|
$13,970,540.11
|
Acquisition of Land
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
$13,970,540.11
|
|
Fiscal Note:
No significant Fiscal Operating impact is anticipated as a result of this project.
The Housing and Affordability Committee Chair was briefed on this item on November 19, 2024.
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Michael Nichols, Director