Houston residents urging city council to withhold money to group seeking millions to build new complex
HOUSTON - Some Houston residents are asking city council members not to do business with an apartment complex owner that has a history of what many call poorly managing the buildings they have.
Residents of Fifth Ward gave the Mayor and Houston City Council an earful Tuesday afternoon, saying if the city grants the owner of a Fifth Ward apartment complex a $28 million contract to build another development, the residents say the city will be making a multi-million dollar mistake.
"Why would we reward an organization that has a pattern of neglect of residents, rats, insect infestation, sewage problems?" asks Joetta Stevenson, who’s a resident and President of the Fifth Ward Super Neighborhood.
That’s the question many speaking out against NHP Foundation are asking. NHP owns Cleme Manor Apartments in Fifth Ward, a complex that residents say is riddled with health concerns. Now, NHP is slated to receive $28 million, $10 million from the county, and $18 million from the city, to build a nearly 150-unit apartment building in Houston for the homeless.
"This is not right. You all know it’s not right, treating humans like this. In Fifth Ward, we feel like we’re the dog pound, come dump on us," says Fifth Ward resident Sandra Edwards.
"It is strategically placed to destroy the people that they wrote a mission statement to help," says Kendra London, who says she’s a former NHP employee.
"I understand their concerns. Cleme Manor has been managed very poorly. There’s a pest infestation there. There are a lot of deficiencies," adds Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. However, Turner says he’s stuck trying to balance what’s happening there at Cleme Manor while also hoping to use the federal dollars controlled by the state General Land Office for the homeless housing.
"We have to use it for this particular project, for this particular developer. If we don’t use it for this project for this developer, which is intended for the homeless population, it goes back to the GLO," the mayor explains.
The City Council will vote Wednesday on giving NHP the money. If they approve the deal, the mayor says that will come with stipulations, including NHP must provide quality housing to its residents here in Houston, must obtain a third party inspector to identify all decencies, and will get a specific amount of time to make necessary repairs. If NHP doesn’t follow the guidelines, the mayor says the company runs the risk of losing its certificate of occupancy and NHP would have to pay to relocate all of its residents.
Turner also says he has taken notice of the number of apartment complaints. He recently created a new Strike Force Team to respond to 311 calls regarding habitability concerns. The team is made up of police, public works, health, and solid waste officials, and its sole responsibility is following up on 311 calls so that Houston residents aren’t living in inhabitable conditions.
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NHP released the following statement on Monday:
"We are very appreciative of Mayor Turner and several other council members for their support of the Magnificat supportive housing development. We are working hard to gain the trust of the other council members by providing them additional information, and we will be meeting with several of them to answer any questions. As providers of quality affordable housing in Houston, we take the concerns of residents very seriously and will continue to do everything in our power to address all issues."