2022 REAL ESTATE EDITION
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: HOUSTON COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
Preservation strategies Researchers with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research pinpointed a number of methods that can be employed to keep housing a ordable in Harris County. SOURCE: KINDER INSTITUTE FOR URBAN RESEARCH COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Social impact funds: Investors who want to support a ordable housing can invest in projects with the expectation that they will get low market returns. Tax increment reinvestment zones: Municipal entities that
The nonpro t Houston Community Land Trust provides assistance to prospective homeowners who are under 80% of the area median income level, which can include up to $150,000 in help with down payments and closing costs. The land trust works in partnership with the city of Houston, which helps provide
determining the best ways to move forward, but has identi ed a few key strategies, including adding more accessible dwelling units and using TIRZ funds to incentivize landlords to preserve their older, more a ord- able properties. “The fact that we’re actually sitting down and trying to gure out a policy puts us ahead of other organizations of our type,” TIRZ chair Joe Webb said. “The question is, can we move fast enough at this instance? I hope so, and I think we can.” Another bene t of the land trust is that it stabilizes property taxes on a property, helping homeowners who might otherwise have had to foreclose when taxes became una ordable. funding, and local nonpro t builders, Executive Director Ashley Allen said. While the land trust was seeing around 40 applications per month in the early spring, Allen said that doubled to 80 per month in May and June, a trend she attributed to rising property taxes.
raise tax revenue can use those funds to incentivize developers to preserve
and build a ordable housing within the TIRZ’s boundaries.
Ashley Allen, executive director of the Houston Community Land Trust
project in Sharpstown called Savoy, set to open in 2023 with 120 units for work- ing families and seniors. Openings at existing properties do not last long, Horak-Brown said. “For folks at 30% of the area median income, for every 100 units of a ord- able housing that are needed in the Houston metropolitan area, 19 of them exist,” she said. Avenue operates 10 multifamily communities comprising roughly 1,000 units in Houston, including both subsidized and unsubsidized projects. The company launched a social impact fund two years ago to help acquire and preserve NOAH projects. The move was a necessity to meet the challenge
get low market returns. Avenue CDC is one of the few groups in Houston that have launched a social impact fund, Fulton said. Tax increment reinvestment zones can also play a vital role, according to the Kinder study. TIRZs are local gov- ernmental entities that collect incre- ments of tax revenue over a period time to use on improvements within their boundaries. The Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone nalized its Liv- able Centers Plan in 2021. The plan included strategies for how to preserve a ordable housing in the area, which is already largely built out. The TIRZ is in the early stages of
of providing more units as demand rises, Lawler said. “We would love to build as many units as possible, but the subsidy is limited,” Lawler said. “It’s just not currently su cient to build us out of this challenge.” The path forward The Kinder Institute released a report in November 2021 outlin- ing strategies for how to preserve a ordable housing in Harris County. Strategies that show promise include social impact funds, Fulton said, in which investors who want to support a ordable housing can invest in proj- ects with the expectation they will
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
YOUR PUBLIC HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
DEDICATED HEALTHCARE CHAMPIONS FOR ALL With one million of our residents uninsured, Harris Health System proudly serves as your public healthcare safety net, providing high-quality primary, specialty, acute and trauma care. Thank you for your support.
19
HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • JULY 2022
Powered by FlippingBook