REGIONAL COMMUNITY
Local stories from the Greater Houston area
Management district to improve FM1960 corridor gets closer to reality
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
To establish the management district, the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce will have to receive approval from the owners of over 50% of the FM 1960 corridor’s commercial property value, which totals about $2.2 billion, agreeing to contribute an additional annual assessment to fund its services.
The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce has taken the rst step in a new e ort to revitalize the FM 1960 corridor, which local property owners and o cials said has become infamous for its decline in economic activity over the last few decades. The chamber signed a contract in late January with Hawes Hill & Associates, an economic develop- ment rm, to assist in the creation and administration of a management district along FM 1960 between Hwy. 249 and I-45. Upon creation, the management district would serve as a funding mechanism to provide services such as nuisance abatement, landscaping and additional law enforcement. “There’s been a decline in the retail tra c ... [and] in the capital invested into a lot of the commercial properties [on FM 1960],” chamber President and CEO Bobby Lieb said. “We have abandoned strip centers that are sitting empty that are being vandalized. All of that is contributing to a decline in property values, and it’s contributing to a decline in economic activity.” Under the $60,000 contract, funded through Grow Northwest, the chamber’s economic development fund, Hawes Hill & Associates will provide services to the chamber until the management district is approved by the Texas Commission on Envi- ronmental Quality—a process that could take up to two years, Lieb said. However, the management BY ADRIANA REZAL AND HANNAH ZEDAKER
district’s creation is contingent upon the majority of a ected property owners agreeing to contribute an additional annual cost, similar to a tax, to fund it. Over the last 15 years, two legisla- tive attempts to establish a manage- ment district along FM 1960 spanning from Hwy. 249 to I-45 were made, but failed due to a lack of support, Lieb said. By contrast, the latest revitaliza- tion e ort is taking an administrative route, which Lieb said does not require legislative approval. According to David Hawes, senior partner at Hawes Hill & Associates, management districts allow a board of directors to implement services in an area supplemental to those typically provided by a city or county. Depending on a community’s unique circumstances and goals, a man- agement district may use di erent mechanisms to fund such services. Because FM 1960 is a commercial hub, similar to the Uptown Houston and Westchase districts, a manage- ment district would utilize services to drive economic growth, Hawes said. “That could include additional safety and security initiatives, [such as] nuisance abatement on building violations ... [and] beauti cation, which includes landscaping, ... trash abatement, … bandit sign removal [and] gra ti abatement,” Lieb said. Now that a contract has been signed, the rm will draft a service plan outlining what improvements need to be made and how much each would cost.
45
3.76 square miles
Proposed district boundary
1960
249
Estimated $2.2 billion in commercial property value
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SOURCE: ESRI GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPANY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
To fund these services, the district would rely on a levied assessment on commercial properties within the district. Vacant and multifamily properties would also be subject to the assessment, while single-family residential properties would not. Before submitting an application to the TCEQ, a chamber task force must collect petitions from the owners of at least $1.1 billion worth of commer- cial properties within the district’s boundaries agreeing to be assessed— Once the majority of commercial property value is collected through petitions and the district is approved, all commercial property owners within the boundaries would be charged an annual assessment rate, similar to a tax. According to Hawes, property owners in a management district are commonly charged 8-10 cents per $100 of property value. over 50% of the district’s total $2.2 billion commercial value.
Lieb said the rm will be working with the chamber’s task force to further discuss what services will be needed in the district. The chamber also plans to hold public outreach events to gain community feedback. Many property and business owners voiced both support for and opposition against a management district. Bill Mehrens, who serves as the president of the Cypress Creek Parkway Business and Property Owners Association, said a manage- ment district would serve to provide funding for services in the area. Vicky Rodgers, who owns D’Ann’s Wig Salon near FM 1960 and Ella Boulevard, said she would need to see some good examples of places where management districts have been successful before jumping on the bandwagon. “Show me a district where you guys have worked and show it to me before and after,” she said.
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