Cypress Edition | February 2025

News

BY DANICA LLOYD & JESSICA SHORTEN

Houstonians struggle with nancial stability Just one in three Houston-area residents can cover three months of living expenses using savings—an indicator of nancial stabil- ity, according to a study released Jan. 13 from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research in partnership with the United Way of Greater Houston. About 64% of residents surveyed said they have a budget. Of those who don’t budget, 39% said they felt they didn’t earn enough to justify needing a budget and 14% said they felt they had enough money. Major takeaways Dan Potter, director of the Kinder Insti- tute’s Houston Population Research Center, called on policymakers and organizations to provide nancial education and address systemic barriers to nancial stability.

Company puts in bid to take over Howard Hughes Hedge fund management company Pershing Square announced a proposal to merge with Howard Hughes—developer of Bridgeland and The Woodlands—in a Jan. 13 letter, which would see Pershing become a “larger, permanent” owner. Two-minute impact According to the letter sent by Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman to the Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. board of directors, the merger was proposed following an internal stakeholder discussion regarding making Howard Hughes a privately held organization due to investor concerns that the company’s stock value was not increasing at the rate desired by shareholders. In a statement Jan. 13, Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. conrmed the board’s receipt of the proposal, restating an Aug. 4 remark that the board formed a special committee to explore Pershing Square’s

“[Howard Hughes] would become a modern-day Berkshire Hathaway that would acquire controlling interests in operating companies.” BILL ACKMAN, CEO, PERSHING SQUARE

interest in a possible transaction. “The special committee will evaluate the proposal and determine the appropriate course of action and process,” the new statement reads. In the statement, Howard Hughes ocials declined to comment further on the matter. Why it matters Howard Hughes oversees the development of Cy-Fair’s largest master-planned community, Bridgeland. In addition to selling hundreds of homes each year, a 925-acre urban district known as Bridgeland Central is underway and expected to be built out over the next several decades, Community Impact previously reported.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM